I  !iii 


I 


.m. 


HOME! 

'^:  OR 

V. 

THE  PILGRIMS' FAITH  REVIVED 

BY  y 

CHAKLES  T.  TOEREY. 

Written  durin?  his  incarceration  in  Baltimore  Jail,  after  his 
conviction,  and  while  awaiting — his  sentence. 


'  Aj'e,  call  it  holy  ground, 

The  land  whereon  they  trod  ; 
They  left  unstained  what  there  they  found, 

Freedom  to  worship  God.' 


.       PUBLISHED  FOR  THE  BENEFIT  OF  HIS    FAMILY. 


SeconTr  2Stiitfon. 


SALEM: 

PUBLISHED  BY  JOHN  P.  JEWETT   AND  COMPANY. 
CINCINNATI  :   GEORGE  L.  WEED. 

1845. 


y 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1 845, 

BY  JOHN  p.  JEWETT, 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  District  Court  of  Massachusetts. 


A  N  D  O  V  E  R: 

Printed  by  Allen,  Morrill  &  Wardwell. 


PREFACE 


A  GOOD  book  needs  none ;  and  the  best  preface  cannot 
improve  a  bad  one.  Friend !  The  writer  is  the  inmate  of 
a  prison  cell.  Months  ago,  while  in  freedom,  I  agreed  to 
prepare  a  volume  for  a  Sunday  School  Society,  designed 
to  illustrate  the  causes  of  the  decay,  and  the  means  of  a 
revival  of  piety  in  the  church  and  the  individual  mind. 
Its  illustrations  were  to  be  drawn  in  part,  from  the  history 
of  the  Puritan  chiu-ches  of  New  England,  and  in  part,  from 
such  records  of  experience  as  every  observing  Christian 
treasures  up,  in  his  journey  towards  his  Heavenly  Home. 
It  was  to  be  a  hook  of  principles,  -with  enough  of  illustration 
by  incident  and  narrative  to  show  their  value  and  applica- 
tion to  our  duty. 

Just  as  I  Avas  prepared  to  write,  Tracked  men  seized  me, 
and  thrust  me  into  a  felon's  jail,  on  the  charge  of  being — a 
sinner '?  No !  but  merciful,  kind,  compassionate  to  some  of 
the  poor  of  the  land,  contrary  to  the  laws  of  Maryland.  I 
have  been  tried,  and  conoided,  on  just  such  evidence  as  the 
Jews  brought  against  my  Saviour  and  yours ;  neither  more 
respectable  nor  more  true.  It  is  very  po^^sible  the  next 
3^ears  of  my  life  may  be  spent  in  prison,  with  no  companion 
to  whom  to  open  my  heart,  but  Christ.  Blessed  be  His 
Holy  Name.     No  prison  can  exclude  him  from  the  soul. 

Meantime,  I  had  a  few  days  of  reprieve.  One  anxiety 
only  has  been  in  my  heart.  I  have  a  wife  and  children. 
They  are  poor :  I  in  prison.  How  can  I  save  them  from 
want  ?  By  doing  evil  I  will  not ;  perhaps  by  doing  good 
I  may.  Without  books,  with  no  helps,  a  few  days'  labor 
will  not  impart  to  the  long  meditated  volume  the  character 
which  shall  entirely  fit  it  for  a  Sabbath  School  Society. 
But,  by  imparting  to  it  somewhat  more  of  a  narrative  form, 
even  its  value  may  not  be  impaired,  while  its  interest  shall 
be  increased.  It  may  do  good  to  many,  by  showing  them 
the  path  of  life,  and  it  may  help,  too,  to  feed  my  family. 
If  it  is  icorth  reading,  it  -wdll  do  both. 

So  I  have  written.  According  to  mTibest  judgment  it  is 
fitted  to  do  good,  to  attract  attention  to  the  saving  tniths  of 
the  gospel,  and  to  lead  men  to  love  them.  Otherwise  I 
should  not  dare  to  send  it  to  the  press,  even  to  gain  an  end 
so  sacred  as  bread  for  the  hungry.    I  have  given  it,  so  to 


IV  PREFACE. 

speak,  a  local  scenery.  I  have  drawn  its  scenes,  its  incidents, 
its  illustrations,  mostly  from  the  Home  of  my  clnldhood. 
It  even  takes,  in  part,  the  form  of  personal  narrative.  Other 
incidents  Avere  not  Avanting,  derived  from  countless  sources, 
to  illustrate  great  principles.  But  I  love  to  connect  every- 
thing I  write  AAdth  the  endearaients,  the  sorrows,  the  joys 
of  Home ;  the  scenes  and  friends  whom  I  loved  in  youth. 
And  I  have  trusted  that  it  would  give  a  more  familiar, 
home-like  character  to  ^'iews  intended  to  guide  the  steps  of 
those  who  seek  a  Home  on  high.  There  is  not  an  incident, 
not  a  narrative  or  an  illustration  hut  is  tnie,  in  fact,  so  far 
as  I  know.  Most  of  them  are  drawn  from  my  own  person- 
al recollections,  and  are  connected  with  the  hfe  and  death 
of  those  I  dearly  loved. 

The  local  and  personal  allusions,  while  I  trust  they  will 
offend  none,  will  I  hope  benefit  some  of  my  early  and  still 
loved  associates.  At  the  same  time,  to  the  general  reader, 
they  illustrate  traits  of  human  character  and  principles  of 
action  that  are  as  universal  as  the  elements  of  fallen  or  re- 
generate manhood. 

The  '  Plot'  is  simply  the  decline  of  spiritual  religion  in 
a  Puritan  church,  and  its  revival.  The  causes  of  both  are 
illustrated  by  incidents  of  every  kind,  so  as  to  present  the 
contrast  between  the  worldly  and  spiritual  mind  as  vi\ddly 
as  may  be. 

If  one  illustration  provoke  a  smile,  another  may  cause 
a  tear.     Smiles  and  tears  make  up  our  life.     I  love  both,  ^^ 
in  their  places.      Sometimes  they  each  sjiring  from  an 
heart  of  agony ;  sometimes  each  is  the  herald  of  joy. 

I  have  not  avoided  brief  discussions  of  topics  both  pro- 
found and  exciting.  And  I  never  go  out  of  my  way  to 
avoid  a  thought  that  is  new,  or  possibly,  offensive,  so  be, 
that  I  believe  it  true. 

So,  Keader,  the  writer  and  his  book  you  know.  May  it 
help  you  to  value  and  enjoy  that  ecery-day  religion  which 
fills  the  bosom  of  the  prisoner  with  the  Peace  of  God,  and 
by  which  our  feet  may  be  s.afely  guided  in  the  path  that 
leads  from  our  earthly  dwelling-place  to  our  Heavexly 
Home, 

Charles  T.  Torret. 

Baltimore,  Md. 

Dpc.  20,  1844. 


i 


iti;^^- 


CONTENTS 


Preface Pages  3, 4. 

CHAPTER  I. 
Our  town  described — Early  settlers — Piety  with  knowledge — Edu- 
cated ministry — No  village — No  foreign  source  of  corruption — 
The  pastor  settled — Parish  funds — The   causes   of  declension. 
(1)    Theoietical  errors.      (2)    Bad  morality — No  life  remains 

13—30 

CHAPTER  II. 
The  gold  dimmed — Causes.  (1)  Civil  rights  conferred  on  church 
members  only.  (2)  Half-way  covenant — True  views  of  the  sa- 
craments. (3)  Worldly  churches  will  have  worldly  ministers — 
Whitefield  rejected— Teachers  of  error.  (4)  Influence  of  the 
Revohition— The  way  the  tories  paid  taxes — War  no  friend  of 
Christ      •        .        .        .        • 31—43 

CHAPTER  III. 
Like  people,  like  priest — The  worldly  pastor  described — The  De- 
ist in  the  pulpit — Church   discipline  neglected — Religious  ideas 
lost— The  heart  wiser  than  the  intellect — The  deacon's  faith- 
Pure  faitli  connected  with  prosperity — The  Ball.        .        49 — 62 

CHAPTER  IV. 
The  shades  grow  darker — Pulpit  exchanges  with  errorists — No  so- 
cial   prayer — The   closet  forgotten — Neglect   of  worship — The 
Sabbath  desecrated — Covetousness,  which  is  idolatry— Examples 

63—71 

CHAPTER  V. 
Intemperance  abounding — Death  and  crime — Lewdness — The  sins 
of  the  parents  visited  on  their  children,  a  true  story — The  covenant 
remembered  .        .......        72—81 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  VI. 


Party  spirit— Preaching  at  men— Uses  of  sects  and  parties— Bible 
politics— Supremacy  of  the  law  of  God        .        .        .        82 — 91 

CHAPTER  VII. 
Relics  of  faith— A  mother— Spirit  in  heaven— Old  associations. 
The  illustration — Old  books — Conscience  recognizes  the  truth — 
Literature  and  religion — The  libraries — Home,  a  mission  field  ! 
— The  faithful  j)reacher — Social  prayer,  revived — The  nexc  com- 
mandment obeyed — Religion  and  education        .        .         92 — 107 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

The  Belle  of  Home 108—122 

CHAPTER  IX. 

The  mission  sermons — Givers  not  losers — Weakness  made  strong; 

Folly,  wise — The  dream — The  poor  widow — The  learned  taught 

humility — The  sailor  preacher — The  heart  the  best  contioversial- 

ist — The   sons  of     Home,  abroad — The   natural  heart  shown 

123—142 

CHAPTER  X. 

Physic  for  a  guilty  conscience ! 143 — 164 

CHAPTER  XI. 

Old  ties  broken— The  faithful  pastor— Old  George— The  Bible  class 
— The  vicious  saved— Election  justified;  the  narrative— The 
strayed  sheep  looked  up — The  aged  sinner  saved — The  poor- 
house— Temperance— The  last  argument,  holy  living    165—184 

CHAPTER  XII. 
The  dead  left  alone  !— Satire,  yet  truth— Religion  imitated — Spir- 
it without  knowledge— Preaching  of  Christ,  but  not  preaching 
Christ— The  wild  flower— Paid  pastors  no  "  hirelings"  185—199 

CHAPTER  XIII. 
A  century  passed— Twiliglit— Logic  of  the   heart—Spiritual   dis- 
cernment—The "  set  time  to  favor  Zion"  come— The  revival— 
The  wise  need  teaching 200 214 


CONTENTS.  VU 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

"  The  early  loved,  the  early  lost"  ....        215—236 

CHAPTER  XV. 
Diversities  of  character — Causes.     Natural  gifts — Feelings  vary — 
Education,-Preaching — The  metaphysicians — Course  of  Provi- 
dence ;  Facts — Diversities  of  belief.    Illustrations — Sources  of 
error— All  truths  saving — "  The  same  Spirit" — Our  Home  above. 

237—256 


HOME! 


They  left  unstained,  what  there  they  found, 
Freedom  to  worship  God  !" 

Felicia  Hemans. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Our  town  described — Early  settlers — ^Piety  with  know- 
ledge— Educated  Ministry — No  village — No  foreign 
source  of  corruption — The  Pastor  settled — Parish  funds. 
Two  causes  of  declension,  (1)  Theoretical  errors,  (2) 
Bad  morality — No  life  remains. 

"  Home  !  home  !  sweet  Iiome  ! 
Be  it  ever  so  homely, 
There's  no  place  like  home  !" 

"  Our  town,"  the  scene  of  my  narrative,  is  one 
of  the  first  thirteen  incorporated  towns  of  New  En- 
gland. Ishallcall  it  simply,  Home.  Long  years 
have  passed  since  1  ceased  to  be  more  than  a 
chance  visitor  there ;  but  there's  not  a  hill,  nor  a 
stream,  nor  a  quiet  meadow,  or  forest  grove,  not 
one  of  its  dwellings — many  of  which  bear  the 
mosses  of  nearly  two  centuries  on  their  venerable 
roofs,  in  which  I  do  not  feel  that  tender,  and  ap- 
2 


# 


14  HOME. 

propriating  interest  which  is  ever  linked  with  that 
sweet  word,  Home.  No  lapse  of  time,  no  change 
of  pursuits,  no  alienations  of  feeling  or  sentiment 
blot  from  my  memory  one  scene  of  my  childhood. 
In  my  dreams,  in  the  prison  cell  of  a  distant  city,  I 
revisit  every  old  haunt,  think  where  I  plucked  the 
butter-cups  and  violets ;  and  the  old  moss  grown 
nut  tree,  the  button  wood  where  the  oriole  hung 
her  nest  of  fine  thread,  far  beyond  the  reach  of  the 
most  daring ;  the  dear  old  mansion  where  my  early 
youth  was  passed  so  rapidly  ;  and,  more  than  all, 
the  playmates,  whose  every  feature,  every  joyous 
laugh,  every  little  sorrow,  all  seem  as  vividly  before 
me,  as  if  it  were  yesterday's  scenes. 

So,  no  matter  what  the  maps  call  it,  its  name 
shall  be  Home. 

The  first  white  settler  in  Home,  was  one  of  my 
own  ancestors.  His  humble  calling,  a  tanner,  did 
not  exempt  him  from  the  malice  of  those  who 
"  wore  out  the  Saints  of  the  Most  High,"  in  the 
Fatherland.  So,  gathering  up  his  household  goods, 
cheered  by  the  smiles  of  his  Christian  partner,  he 
crossed  the  waste  of  waters,  and,  with  a  courage 
few  dared  imitate,  plunged  into  the  wilderness 
above  twenty  miles  from  any  habitation  of  a  Chris- 
tian man.  His  meek  confidence  in  them,  and  the 
utility  of  his  calling,  gained  him  the  favor  of  the 


HOME.  15 

savages,  and  they  gave  him  a  large  tract  of  cleared 
land,  part  of  their  own  cornfields,  as  a  token  of 
their  love  and  gratitude.  His  line  of  descendants 
still  live  on  the  hallowed  spot  where  the  Jirst 
•prayer  ascended  to  our  Father's  God  from  the 
domestic  altar.  He  came  to  the  town  in  1622.  A 
few  years  more  converted  the  wild  woods  and 
swamps  into  the  fields  and  rich  meadows  of  the 
pleasant  farming  and  fishing  town  of  Home. 

The  eastern  border,  for  some  twelve  miles,  rests 
on  the  sea-shore.  It  is  a  long,  rocky  beach,  on 
which  the  surges  never  cease  to  beat,  which  has 
been  the  last  sand  touched  by  many  a  shipwrecked 
sailor,  and  is  interrupted  by  several  high  hills,  or 
cliffs.  In  some  past  century  these  cliffs  were  long 
promontories,  jutting  out  into  the  ocean  waves. 
Storm  after  storm  has  beat  upon  them,  and  now, 
more  than  two  thirds  of  iheir  soil  has  fallen,  and 
been  washed  away.  Twenty  years  ago,  I  remem- 
ber riding  on  firm  soil,  at  a  safe  distance  from  the 
then  peaceful  brink  of  one  of  the  cliffs,  more  than 
an  hundred  feet  beyond  the  present  reach  of  the 
fierce  waves.  And  the  huge  rocks  that  once  dot- 
ted the  top,  now  help  to  break  the  power  of  the 
waters,  far  out  from  the  shore.  These  cliffs,  in 
1622  were  covered  with  the  cornfields  of  the  In- 
dians.    At  the  foot  of  one  of  them  stood  their  wig- 


d 


16  HO  M  E  . 

warns.  Near  by,  stands  the  old  mansion,  or  its 
successor,  built  on  the  soil  they  gave  the  friendly 
Christian  tanner.  Between  another,  and  a  rocky 
headland,  is  our  little  tide  harbor,  giving  shelter 
to  our  fishing  craft,  and  a  few  vessels  engaged  in 
the  coasting  trade. 

For  more  than  fifteen  miles,  our  southern  border 
rests  on  the  winding  banks  of  a  little  river,  famed 
for  its  excellent  fisheries,  and  still  more  for  its  ship- 
building. Here  our  carpenters  launched  the  first 
AmericanVessel  that  ever  doubled  the  stormy  Cape 
Horn,  and  coasted  the  western  shores  of  our  con- 
tinent. It  was  manned,  in  part,  tradition  says, 
by  our  towns-people. 

From  the  broad  meadows  of  the  river  banks,  the 
land  rises  gently  towards  the  North  and  West, 
towards  a  range  of  hills  that  toe  call  mountains, 
though  the  dwellers  on  the  sides  of  the  White 
Hills  would  smile  at  the  designation.  Mount  Hope, 
the  highest,  may  be  300  feet  above  the  tide  level. 
From  these  hills  many  little  brooks  and  streamlets 
find  their  way  to  the  river,  and  sea  side.  There  is 
not  an  abrupt  hill,  not  a  precipice,  save  one  on  the 
sea  shore,  in  all  the  town.  The  hills  slope  gently 
down  to  the  streams ;  and  these  flow  with  hardly  a 
murmur,  through  the  woods  and  wilds  till  they  are 
lost  in  the  large  river,  having  just  descent  enough 


HOME.  17 

to  supply  mill  sites  to  saw  the  boards,  and  grind 
the  corn  and  rye  we  use.  The  whole  tone  of  the 
scenery  is  quiet,  peaceful,  loving,  if  I  may  so  apply 
the  word.  The  soil  is  everywhere  good,  yielding 
fair  returns  to  the  farmer's  toil. 

Home  was  early  settled  by  a  large  number  of 
energetic  men,  who,  without  exception,  engaged  in 
farming.  Even  the  ministers,  till  within  my  own 
recollection,  cultivated  the  parsonage  lands,  set 
apart  for  the  support  of  the  gospel  by  the  piety  of 
the  early  settlers.  The  physicians  followed  the 
same  example.  So  did  the  merchants.  And  as 
for  a  lawyer,  to  this  day,  with  over  4000  people,  we 
have  neither  crimes  nor  quarrels  enough  to  support 
one !  They,  too,  have  been  farmers,  although  sev- 
eral of  them  have  adorned  the  highest  judicial 
stations  in  the  Commonwealth  and  the  Nation. 

Till  within  ten  years,  there  was  nothing  like  a 
village  in  Home.  The  people  are  so  evenly  dis- 
tributed over  its  wide  surface,  that  each  lives  on 
his  own  separate  farm,  yet  not  a  house  in  all  Home 
is  out  of  sight  of  its  neighbor.  I  remember  one 
house,  in  my  boyhood,  that  was  so  surrounded  with 
noble  pine  forests,  that,  in  spite  of  its  situation  on 
a  hill  top,  no  other  house  was  visible  from  it.  It 
was  a  topic  of  general  congratulation,  among  the 
neighbors,  when  the  fall  of  several  huge  trees,  that 
2* 


18  HOME. 

had  braved  the  storms  ofcenturies,  gave  that  lonely 
family  a  view  of  a  chimney-top,  perhaps  a  hundred 
rods  away!  '*  Yes,  we  feel  much  more  social, 
now,"  remarked  the  kind  woman,  who  for  thirty 
years  had  not  been  able  to  see  her  neighbors  with- 
out going  to  their  houses,  or  receiving  their  visits. 

There  are,  there  always  have  been,  some  rich, 
very  rich  men  in  our  town.  But  the  social  inequal- 
ities that  riches  and  poverty  too  often  create  were 
scarcely  ever  known.  1  remember  one  rich  man 
who  made  himself  very  generally  odious,  because 
he  would  have  his  hired  laborers  eat  in  the  kitchen, 
instead  of  seating  them  at  the  family  table.  "  He 
was  so  proud,  he  would  die  poor,"  was  once  said 
of  him.     He  did  not,  but  his  children  may. 

For  a  century  and  a  half,  hardly  a  foreigner 
has  entered  Home.  The  few  who  came  were  soon 
assimilated  to  the  habits  and  feelings  of  a  people 
born,  living,  and  dying  on  the  same  soil.  I  can  re- 
member twenty  families  in  one  section  of  the  town, 
which,  for  seven,  eight  and  nine  generations  have 
lived  on  the  same  spot;  no  rare  thing  in  the  old 
countries,  but  quite  so  in  our  new  and  ever  moving 
land.  No  foreign  sources  of  corruption,  therefore, 
ever  came  in  to  make  the  sons  unworthy  to  bear 
the  names  of  their  sires.  If  they  have  fallen,  the 
root  of  evil  is  from  within. 


HOME 


19 


The  first  settlers  were  generally  men  of  property. 
Many  of  them  were  scholars  and  accomplished 
gentlemen.  They  impressed  on  their  children  a 
love  of  learning,  and  a  refinement  of  manners  that 
has  never  wholly  disappeared,  in  the  darkest  peri- 
ods of  the  annals  of  Home. 

Sound  in  their  religious  faith,  tauo-ht  the  value  of 
a  good  hope  towards  God  by  the  lessons  of  perse- 
cution, there  was  not,  perhaps,  for  two  generations 
a  head  of  a  family  who  did  not  belong  to  the 
church  ;  not  a  house  in  which  the  morning  and 
evening  sacrifice  of  prayer  and  thanksgiving  was 
omitted. 

No  law  was  ever  needed  to  induce  the  people 
to  sustain  a  sufficient  number  of  excellent  free 
schools.  And,  for  more  than  a  century  from  the 
settlement,  a  public  "  grammar"  school,  supplied 
to  all  who  desired  it,  the  means  of  a  more  enlarged 
course  of  study.  While  the  rigor  of  the  early 
faith  and  piety  remained,  no  town  set  a  greater  val- 
ue on  the  higher  branches  of  education  than  the 
people  of  Home. 

At  an  early  period  two  large  churches  were 
gathered,  and  pastors  were  settled  ;  men  who  com- 
bined the  most  fervent  piety  with  the  best  educa- 
tion the  Universities  of  the  mother  country,  or  our 
own  infant  Harvard  could  afford.     An  ignorant 


20  HOME. 

clergyman  was  never  suffered  to  disgrace  a  pulpit, 
in  Home.  Oh,  had  the  people  always  cared  as 
much  for  the  deeper  dishonor  done  to  it,  by  the 
want  of  a  pure  faith  and  the  graces  of  the  Spirit, 
how  different  would  have  been  the  results !  Piety 
without  knowledge  soon  becomes  mere  weak  fa- 
naticism. But  knowledge  without  piety  only 
"  puffeth  up"  the  natural  heart  with  pride,  and 
leads  the  spirit  far  away  from  God. 

Nothing  better  illustrates  the  spirit  of  our  fath- 
ers, than  the  mode  of  providing  a  pastor,  as  it  is 
spread  out  on  many  a  page  of  the  early  town  re- 
cords of  Home.  The  whole  town  took  part  in  it ; 
for  not  a  family  was  found  in  its  limits  who  lived 
without,  at  least,  the  forms  of  religion.  It  was  a 
municipal  act,  as  well  as  an  act  of  the  members  of 
the  church,  in  their  ecclesiastical  capacity.  This 
was,  indeed,  an  error  of  our  fathers,  which  later 
experience  has  corrected.  But  with  them,  the 
hearts  of  all  so  united  in  the  work,  that  it  made 
little  difference  in  the  first  century. 

The  first  step  was  to  assemble  all  the  church,  and 
appoint  a  day  of  public  fasting  and  prayer,  that  God 
would  guide  them  in  the  selection  of  a  candidate 
for  the  pastoral  office.  From  sunset  till  sunset 
again,  the  entire  people  fasted,  literally.  In  every 
house,  the  reading  of  the  Scriptures  and  prayer  oc- 


HOME.  21 

cupied  the  intervals  of  public  worship.  Commonly 
some  neighboring  pastor  preached  to  them  two 
sermons,  appropriate  to  their  condition,  and  to  the 
solemn  duties  connected  with  their  objects.  Those 
longr,  long  sermons !  Each  from  two  to  four  hours 
long !  How  did  our  fathers  and  mothers  endure 
it,  even  in  summer  weather,  not  to  speak  of  the 
cold,  icy  winter's  day,  when  the  sun  had  no  power 
to  melt  the  icicle  on  the  sheltered  south  eaves,  and 
neither  stove  nor  fireplace  shed  a  genial  glow  over 
any  part  of  their  vast  wooden  edifices  for  worship. 
Their  faith  warmed  them,  or  else  they  were  made 
of  sterner  stuff  than  their  children. 

Then  followed  the  appointment  of  a  committee 
of  the  wisest  men  of  the  church  to  take  the  advice 
of  the  neighboring  churches  and  pastors  respect- 
ing a  candidate,  unless,  indeed,  one  of  eminent 
gifts  was  at  hand,  respecting  whom  no  such  ad- 
vice could  be  needed. 

The  candidate  came.  For  six  months  or  a 
year  he  "  went  in  and  out  before  the  people," 
preached  the  word,  visited  the  sick,  comforted  the 
afflicted,  taught  the  young,  counselled  the  aged. 
In  a  word,  he  discharged,  as  he  was  able,  all  the 
offices  of  a  pastor.  Even  all  this  did  not  decide 
his  settlement,  in  every  case.  Another  day  of 
prayer  and  fasting  was  observed,  "  to  know  the 


23  HOME. 

mind  of  the  Spirit  whether  He  would  call"  the  can- 
didate to  the  permanent  discharge  of  these  duties. 
If  any  doubt  remained,  the  matter  was  still  defer- 
red, and  other  days  of  prayer  set  apart.  Then,  if 
the  people  were  united,  the  advice  of  the  surround- 
ing churches  and  pastors  was  sought ;  not,  indeed, 
as  having  any  binding  control  over  their  choice, 
but  as  a  matter  of  brotherly  affection  and  courtesy. 
Then  followed  the  solemn  services  of  the  ordina- 
tion. No  wonder  that  the  pastoral  relation  so  ma- 
turely formed,  was  an  enduring  bond,  that  nothing 
but  death,  or  the  misconduct  of  the  pastor  could 
sever.  Care  was  needed,  in  forming  ties,  so  sacred 
in  their  objects,  with  which  the  spiritual  welfare 
of  an  entire  generation  was  to  be  bound  up. 

Before  the  final  decision,  the  people,  in  their 
municipal  capacity,  assembled  to  provide,  in  a  suit- 
able manner,  for  the  support  of  their  pastor,  so  that 
no  grinding  necessity  might  compel  him  to  neglect 
his  study  for  the  labors  of  the  field ;  though  it  was 
not  deemed  improper  for  him  to  sow  and  reap  his 
own  glebe,  as  well  as  scatter  the  seeds  of  spirit- 
ual life,  and  gather  in  the  harvest  of  immortality. 

At  these  meetings,  as  well  as  on  the  ordinary 
Sabbath  services,  every  person,  of  every  age,  not  in 
actual  attendance  on  the  sick,  was  expected  to  be 
present.    Causeless  absence  was  noted,  the  offend- 


HOME.  23 

er  visited  and  tenderly  reproved.  And,  if  admo- 
nition did  not  avail,  he  was Jined,  as  an  offender 
against  the  rules  of  good  morals,  as  well  as  the 
laws  of  God's  house.  We  deem  this  unwise ;  but 
our  fathers,  erroneous  as  they  were  in  some 
things,  judged  rightly  of  the  value  of  social  worship, 
both  to  the  morals  and  spiritual  well-being  of  man. 

The  pious,  in  every  generation,  have  their 
modes  of  imparting  religious  instruction  to  the 
young.  Our  fathers  knew  its  vital  import,  as  well 
as  we.  In  every  family  that  feared  God,  family 
instruction  was  given  on  the  sabbath,  and  from 
day  to  day,  *'  rising  up  early  and  teaching  them" 
to  walk  in  the  path  of  life.  The  pastor,  too, 
every  month,  assembled  the  youth,  not  merely  to 
hear  the  catechism,  but  to  give  such  lessons  on 
its  great  truths  as  were  adapted  to  their  age. 

I  do  not  wonder  that  errorists  ridicule  that  old 
catechism  !  Its  quaint  terms,  half  obsolete,  save 
in  books  of  technical  theology,  cannot  obscure 
the  brightness  and  logical  harmony  of  the  great 
truths  it  contains.  Apd  it  is  a  foolish  undervalu- 
ing of  the  intellectual  powers  of  our  children,  to 
suppose  that  most  of  them  cannot  understand 
these  primary  doctrines  of  the  Bible,  stated  in  logi- 
cal form,  as  well  as  when  clothed  in  the  attractions 
of  parable,  or  story.    Error  can  never  gain  control 


24  HOME. 

over  the  conscience,  when  the  mind  is  imbued  with 
clear,  logical  conceptions  of  these  divine   truths. 

In  both  the  parishes  of  Home,  the  erring  piety  of 
our  fathers  made  ample  provision,  by  large  vested 
funds,  for  the  permanent  support  of  the  ministry. 
I  say  '  erring  ;'  for  it  is  far  better  to  leave  to  every 
generation  the  duty,  and  blessing  too,  of  feeding 
their  spiritual  guides,  by  their  own  free-will  offer- 
ings. They  love  their  pastor  more,  because  they 
impart  to  him  their  "  carnal  things,"  in  return  for 
the  spiritual  joy,  peace  and  comfort  they  derive 
from  his  labors.  The  widest  observation  proves 
that  the  pastor's  dependence  does  not  diminish 
his  fidelity.  It  is  the  reverse,  with  all  who  are 
fitted,  either  by  nature  or  grace  to  preach  the  gos- 
pel at  all.  And  those  who  best  "  commend  them- 
selves to  every  man's  conscience,  in  the  sight  of 
God,"  by  a  plain  and  loving  exhibition  of  the  guilt 
of  man,  and  the  glory  of  the  cross  will  always,  or 
almost  always,  find  the  most  liberal  support. 

For  more  than  a  century  the  hopes  and  prayers 
of  the  fathers  of  Home  were  justified  by  the  gen- 
eral piety,  pure  morality,  and  high  intelligence  of 
their  descendants. 

One  instance  of  their  superiority  over  the  general 
prejudices  of  their  age,  I  am  too  proud  of  to  omit. 

The  witcheraft  delusion,  after  destroying  thour 


HOME.  25 

sands  of  lives  in  every  part  of  Protestant  and 
Catholic  Europe,  began  to  infect  the  land  of  the 
Pilgrims  also.  For  a  brief  period,  the  popular 
delusion  was  strong.  The  wisest  magistrates, 
the  profoundest  scholars,  the  most  devout  minis- 
ters were  carried  away  with  it.  In  a  few  in- 
stances even  death  was  inflicted  upon  victims, 
not  more  deluded  than  those  who  adjudged  their 
doom.  But,  even  when  the  frenzy  was  at  its 
height  there  were  not  wanting  wise  and  good  men 
who  pitied  the  weakness  they  could  not  help  cen- 
suring ;  and  who  deemed  a  merciful  forbearance 
a  better  remedy  for  popular  delusion  than  the 
hangman's  scourge  and  rope.  The  people  of  Home 
from  the  very  first,  resisted  the  mania.  Their 
enlightened  members  of  the  Governor's  council, 
and  of  the  Legislature,  with  the  hearty  concur- 
rence of  both  pastors  and  people,  strove  to  rescue 
the  supposed  witches  from  their  fate,  and  to  repeal 
the  sanguinary  edicts  against  them.  It  is  a  mat- 
ter of  history  that  their  efforts  were  ultimately 
crowned  with  success.  Intelligence  so  much  in 
advance  of  their  age,  firmness  in  resisting  a  force 
to  which  a  Hale  and  a  Mather  yielded,  deserve 
high  praise.  I  am  proud  of  my  early  HoxVie. 
The  causes  that  dimmed  the  lustre  of  the  most 
3 


26  HOME. 

fine  gold,  in  their  details,  I  reserve  for  another 
chapter.     Some  general  thoughts  will  close  this. 

There  are  two  generic  modes  in  which  a  reli- 
gious community  become  corrupted.  Their  moral- 
ity may  be  debased,  while  their  attachment  to 
correct  theoretical  truths  is  not,  at  first,  abated. 
Or,  their  faith  in  sound  doctrines  maybe  shaken, 
without  affecting  the  tone  of  social  morals,  often 
for  a  long  period. 

Both  these  modes  of  corruption  destroy  spirit- 
ual life  in  the  soul,  equally.  "  Faith  without 
works  is  dead,  living  alone,"  no  matter  how 
strong  it  may  be,  or  with  how  vivid  feelings  it 
may  be  connected.  And  the  most  correct  out- 
ward life  will  not  obtain  the  pardon  of  our  sin ; 
for  "  the  just  shall  live  by  faith." 

The  evil  of  a  dead  faith,  besides  separating  the 
soul  from  God,  will  certainly,  in  the  end,  destroy 
good  morals.  Dead  faith  has  fruits;  but  they 
are  bitter  as  the  apples  of  Sodom. 

The  evil  of  impure  living  will,  in  the  end,  de- 
stroy correct  faith  ;  for  sinners,  determined  to 
live  in  sin,  "  will  not  bear  sound  doctrine,"  but 
"  heap  to  themselves  teachers,"  who  will  connive 
at  their  sins,  and  persuade  them  they  are  in  the 
road  to  heaven,  while  the  pit  is  wide  open  to 
devour  them  alive. 


HOME.  27 

Such  are  the  restraints  thrown  around  the  min- 
istry, that  corruption  in  morals  seldom  begins  with 
them.  But  the  world  has  but  one  example, — that 
of  Swedenborg — of  errors  in  the  theory  of  the 
faith  which  do  not  spring  from  the  teachers  of  re- 
ligion. Examples  of  both  modes  of  corruption 
are  common  enough  in  alhages  and  in  every  land. 
Our  own  supplies  many.  When  men  begin  to  re- 
gard religion  as  something  intended  for  the  Sab- 
bath, the  sick  bed,  or  old  age,  instead  of  the  guide 
of  their  (iaily  life  in  all  its  actions,  civil,  as  well  as 
individual  and  social,  it  is  easy  to  see  that  their 
faith  is  dying ;  it  will  soon  be  dead.  They  may 
still  have  deep  and  pervading  religious  excite- 
ments, and  call  them  "  revivals."  There  may 
be  a  keen  sense  of  sin,  humiliation  ;  followed  by 
peace,  joy,  rapture  !  The  human  soul  is  natural- 
ly devout.  The  worshipper  of  Brahma  and 
Guadama  may  have  as  sincere  and  profound  emo- 
tion as  the  follower  of  Christ.  Is  his  heart  puri- 
fied ?  His  life  gives  the  answer.  The  Spanish 
pirate  had  his  priests.  With  profound  humility, 
with  many  tears,  with  deep  remorse,  with  penance 
and  scourges  he  bought  absolution ;  then  filled 
with  hope,  he  returned  to  his  work  of  butchery. 
The  slaveholder  of  our  land,  often  professes  a  cor- 
rect creed,  has  clear  views  of  the  divine  character. 


28  H  o  :m  E . 

sees  the  evil  of  sin,  in  general,  humbles  himself, 
finds  peace,  and  deems  himself  forgiven.  Then 
he  turns  to  make  the  poor  work  without  wages, 
sells  the  righteous  in  the  market,  "  a  boy,  for  a  har- 
lot, a  girl,  for  a  pair  of  shoes;"  and  tears  asunder 
the  ties  of  nature  and  love.  Still  he  thinks  he  is  a 
child  of  God.  The  debased  morals  of  churches 
that  allow  slavery  has  been  very  widely  followed  by 
doctrinal  errors,  far  more  widely  than  northern 
men  are  aware.  Popular  preaching,  in  these 
churches,  more  and  more  fails  to  exhibit  the  hum- 
bling doctrines  of  the  cross,  and  becomes  merely 
eloquent  appeals  to  the  natural  feelings  and  sympa- 
thies, or  acquired  tastes  of  the  audience.  Among 
the  more  ignorant  classes,  dreams  and  delnsions 
more  gross  than  witchcraft,  and  animal — or  if  you 
will — magnetic  excitements,  as  baleful  as  they  are 
foolish,  take  the  place  of  a  correct  faith  and  pure  life. 
Instances  of  the  other  form  of  corruption  are 
found,  among  us,  in  small  sects,  and  in  individuals. 
My  narrative  will  supply  many.  Though,  in  a  com- 
munity like  New  England,  where  the  public  law 
is  one,  for  the  rich  and  the  poor  ;  where  no  man's 
vices  are  screened  by  his  dependence  or  his 
power ;  where  in  every  town  some  correct  reli- 
gious faith  and  practice  sheds  light  on  the  linger- 
ing darkness,  even  gross  religious  errors  cannot 


HOME 


29 


debase  the  morals  of  social  life,  so  soon,  or  so 
widely,  as  happens  in  the  other  class  of  cases. 

Besides,  as  this  form  of  corruption  begins  always 
with  the  ministers,  those  who  preach  a  lax  faith,  in 
doctrines,  are  often  the  more  eager  to  enforce  a 
correct  outward  deportment  and  amiable  manner. 
They  have  lost  the  highest  sources  of  power  to 
enforce  a  pure  life;  but  they  may  be  diligent  in 
using  the  influences  that  remain.  As  they  de- 
clare heaven  depends  on  correct  morals  and 
amiable  social  conduct,  they  often  succeed  in 
forming  such  characters  as  that  of  the  young 
ruler,  who  lacked  but  "  one  thing,"  the  spirit  of 
self-denying  love  that  should  have  given  harmony 
to  the  inner  and  outward  man. 

This  class  of  teachers  are  eager  to  show  that 
without  the  cross,  without  an  atoning  Saviour, 
and  a  sanctifying  Spirit,  they  can  make  men  as 
lovely  in  their  social  life,  as  pure  in  morals,  as  free 
from  acts  of  dishonor  or  dishonesty,  as  those  who 
combine  evangelical  faith  with  the  same  teachings 
of  morality.  In  a  town  where  purifying  agencies 
of  greater  power  once  acted,  or  still  exist,  with 
some  power,  they  succeed  in  many  instances. 

"  When  Jesus  looked  upon  him,  he  loved"  the 
young  ruler.  As  he  looks  down  from  his  throne 
in  glory,  where  he  still  wears  man's  loving  nature 
3* 


30 


HOME 


and  human  sympathies,  no  doubt  he  loves,  in  the 
same  degree,  the  amiable  fruits  of  the  labors  of 
these  teachers.  "But  one  thing  thou  lackest." 
The  life  of  faith  they  do  not  live.  The  heart  of 
love  for  divine  purity,  justice  and  goodness  they 
do  not  possess.  They  will  "go  away  sorrowful" 
from  the  gates  of  glory,  which  they  thought 
would  so  certainly  open  to  receive  them. 

So  then,  the  emotion,  the  enthusiasm  of  faith 
may  exist,  in  connection  with  a  corrupt  morality. 

And  amiable  manners  and  correct  morals  may 
remain  after  correct  ideas  of  the  gospel  of  salva- 
tion are  lost. 

The  one  is  "  faith  without  works."  Can  faith 
save  him?  The  other  is  "  works  without  faith." 
Is  a  man  justified  by  works  only?  Neither  is  an 
example  of  true  religion.  In  that,  "  faith  works 
hy  love,  purifies  the  heart,  and  overcomes  the  world" 

The  spirit  of  life  within  throws  around  the  out- 
ward life  the  glory,  the  sweetness,  the  peace  and 
beauty  of  its  own  nature. 


31 


CHAPTER   II. 

The  gold  dimmed — Causes — ( 1 )  Civil  rights  conferred  on 
chm'ch  members  only — (2)  Half- way  covenant — True 
view  of  the  sacraments — (3)  Worldly  churches  ^vill  have 
worldly  ministers — Whitefield  rejected — Teachers  of  er- 
ror— (4)  Influence  of  the  Revolution — The  way  the 
torics  paid  taxes — AYar  no  friend  of  Christ. 

One  hundred  years  rolled  away,  without  one  of 
those  blessed  seasons  of  refreshing  from  the  pres- 
ence of  the  Lord,  which  has  taken  the  name  of  a 
*'  revival."  The  light  of  holy  living  and  pure  faith 
went  out,  and  death  reigned  where  the  power  and 
living  beauty  of  the  faith  had  been  so  nobly  mani- 
fested, in  the  earlier  periods  of  the  annals  of  Home. 
The  fathers  slept,  and  their  sons  built  their  sepul- 
chres, but  failed  to  inherit  their  mantles  of  piety. 

The  causes  of  this  sad  change  were  many.  Some 
of  them  of  a  general  and  public  nature  ;  others  lo- 
cal, though  not  without  many  examples  elsewhere. 

The  earliest  source  of  corruption,  in  whipli  the 
churches  of  Home  shared,  in  common  with  many 
others,  was  one  of  the  errors  of  our  fathers.  They 
wished  to  base  their  civil  polity  entirely  on  the 


3-2 


maxims  and  principles  of  religion.  The  wish  was 
laudable  ;  the  means  of  attaining  it,  an  educated, 
pious  ministry,  free,  self-governed  churches,  faith- 
ful instruction  of  their  household,  a  sanctified  Sab- 
bath, universal /ree  education,  were  most  wisely 
adapted  to  the  end.  To  these,  other  measures  of  a 
more  doubtful  character  were  added.  The  most  in- 
jurious was  the  law  by  which  civil  rights  were  con- 
fined to  members  of  the  churches.  This  was  full 
of  evil,  in  every  way.  It  was  a  powerful  motive 
to  a  mere  formal  and  hypocritical  profession  of  a 
faith  in  which  the  heart  had  no  share.  As  every 
mind  was  imbued  with  the  theory  of  a  correct 
faith,  and  more  or  less  familiar  with  the  outlines 
of  religious  experience,  both  by  reading  and  from 
often  listening  to  its  details  ;  such  a  hollow  profes- 
sion was  not  very  difficult,  when  the  outward  life 
of  the  candidate  did  not  compel  the  church  to  ex- 
clude him.  Indeed  such  was  the  real  respect  for 
religion,  in  the  popular  mind,  that  such  professions 
did  not  always  involve  conscious  hypocrisy.  The 
worldly  motive  gave  unconscious  power  to  the  ef- 
fects of  reli^us  education.  So  have  I  seen  the 
carefully  tetmed  children  of  Christian  families 
admitted  to  the  churches,  without  any  want  of 
sincerity  or  emotion,  on  either  part,  but  with  faint 
evidence  indeed  that  the  love  of  God  had  been 
shed  abroad  in  their  hearts  by  the  Holy  Spirit. 


33 


So,  when  men  of  correct  lives,  wealth,  talent 
and  energy,  punctual  in  their  attention  to  the 
forms  of  religion,  sought  admission  to  the  church, 
as  a  means  of  obtaining  civil  rights,  it  became  a 
very  difficult  matter  to  exclude  them. 

Slowly,  but  certainly,  the  churches  were  filled 
with  worldly  men  ;  amiable  in  their  life,  but  with- 
out living  faith  in  the  cross. 

It  is  true,  the  civil  law  referred  to  was  repealed 
at  an  early  day.  But  the  influence  of  it  long  re- 
mained. It  was  necessary  to  a  man's  good  re- 
pute, and  it  smoothed  the  path  to  influence  and 
honor  to  belong  to  the  church,  long  after  the  law 
ceased  to  require  it.  No  churches  suffered  more 
from  this  cause  than  the  rich  and  intelligent 
churches  of  Home.  With  a  single  exception,  in 
an  adjacent  town,  they  were  the  first  in  the  land 
to  show  the  evil  fruits  of  it. 

At  a  somewhat  later  period  they  drank  deeply 
of  the  evils  that  flowed  from  what  is  known  as  the 
*'  half-way-covenant,"  by  which,  without  any  per- 
sonal profession  of  their  faith,  parents  were  allow- 
ed to  present  their  children  for  baptism,  and  cov- 
enant, before  God  and  man,  to  train  them  up  in 
the  precepts  of  a  faith  whose  power  they  neither 
acknowledged  nor  felt,  in  their  own  souls.  This 
was,  it  is  true,  only  the  resumption  of  one  of  the 


34  HOME. 

long  continued  and  early  corruptions  of  the 
church,  against  which  the  Puritan  fathers  had  pro- 
tested. Their  clear,  anointed  eyes  saw  the  folly 
and  sin  of  the  baptism  of  merely  nominal  Chris- 
tians and  their  children,  as  the  persecuting  church 
from  which  they  fled  then  practised,  and  still  did. 
It  was  only  a  mockery  of  faith  for  parents  to  take 
God's  name  and  covenant  on  their  lips,  when 
His  love  did  not  fill  their  hearts. 

True,  the  eloquence  and  zeal  of  a  Stoddard  re- 
vived the  custom,  with  reference  mainly  to  another 
idea ;  but  that  was  one  of  the  most  noxious  of  the 
errors  of  the  Papal  church.  It  was,  that  the  sacra- 
ments and  offices  of  religion  had  in  themselves  a 
sanctifying  power ;  or,  at  least,  impenitent  men 
were  to  use  them  to  obtain  it ;  a  principle  which 
has  no  legitimate  application  to  anything  but  the 
hearing  of  the  word  and  prayer  ;  and  to  the  last, 
in  a  restricted  sense,  only.  Indeed,  there  is  very 
little  natural  relation  between  the  symbols  cf 
Christianity,  and  the  idea  we  connect  with  them, 
in  the  sacraments.  Anything  else  might  repre- 
sent the  body,  or  love  of  the  dying  Saviour,  as 
well  as  bread.  It  is  chosen  because  it  is  the 
commonest  article,  in  daily  use,  that  we  may 
never  eat  without  "discerning  the  Lord's  body," 
if  our  hearts  are  filled  with  His  love.     The  fi:uit 


HOME.  35 

of  the  vine  has  no  possible  analogy  to  those  spir- 
itual changes  in  the  affections  of  the  soul  which 
faith  in  the  atoning  blood,  or  offered  free  pardon  of 
Christ  effects.  Nor  has  the  water  of  baptism,  ap- 
plied to  the  cleansing  of  the  body  any  but  a  re- 
mote analogy  to  the  changes  the  Holy  Spirit  pro- 
duces in  the  heart,  when  love,  joy  and  peace  take 
the  place  of  selfishness,  sorrow  and  remorse.  It  is 
only  as  the  clear  intellect  and  pure  heart  dwell  on 
the  ideas  and  truths  associated  with  these  outward 
symbols,  that  they  have  any  more  influence  in  sanc- 
tifying our  nature  than  the  occupation  of  killing 
and  dressing  sheep,  bullocks  and  goats,  in  which 
the  priesthood  under  the  old  law  were  so  much  em- 
ployed. All  these  sacrifices  and  forms  are  a  sys- 
tem of  Mnemonics,  designed  to  connect  holy  and 
sanctifying  truths  with  familiar  acts,  such  as  the 
preparation  and  use  of  articles  of  food  and  drink, 
and  the  purifying  of  the  body,  by  daily  ablutions. 
The  spiritual  heart  never  eats  bread  or  drinks 
water,  but  the  self-denying  love  that  bled  on  the 
cross,  and  the  grace  that  proffers  free  pardon  and 
renovated  affections  is  more  or  less  present  to  the 
mind.  The  sacraments  are  only  more  formal,  and 
highly  necessary  and  useful  mementoes  of  the 
same  truths.  So  Christ  seeks  to  connect  himself 
with  our  familiar  acts,  that  "  every  thought  may 


36  HOME. 

be  brought  into  captivity  to  the  obedience  of 
Christ,"  or  regulated  by  the  same  holy  love  that 
governed  his  acts  of  suffering  and  grace. 

The  crowd  of  these  baptized  semi-church  mem- 
bers, whose  outward  life  was  free  from  any  serious 
reproach,  and  who  constantly  attended  on  the 
forms  of  worship,  yet  never  or  seldom  were  taught 
the  value  of  piety  and  prayer  by  parental  example, 
soon  became  very  great.  Their  admission  to  the 
other  sacraments,  and  all  the  rights  of  member- 
ship, it  was  very  difficult  to  resist.  The  number 
of  worldly  members  in  the  churches  became  very 
great.  From  this  class  not  a  few  were  taken  to 
supply  the  want  of  religious  teachers.  Serious, 
perhaps  devout,  such  men,  without  heartfelt  piety, 
could  not  be  expected  to  preach  with  fidelity  the 
doctrines  of  the  cross  by  which  the  pride  of  man 
is  abased,  and  all  his  glory  counted  as  dross.  They 
did  not.  A  large  class  of  worldly  ministers  soon 
filled  the  pulpits.  Learned,  often  eminent  for 
their  talents  and  eloquence,  they  won  the  popular 
favor,  and  became,  in  many  instances,  the  advo- 
cates of  religious  doctrines  that  accorded  better 
with  the  state  of  their  own  hearts,  unrenewed  by 
divine  grace,  than  with  the  teachings  of  the  Bible. 

It  is  only  a  matter  o^  justice  to  acknowledge 
the  aid  and  influence  of  our  Baptist  brethren,  in 


HOME.  37 

banishing  a  second  time,  from  the  Puritan  church- 
es this  child  of  English  Episcopacy  and  Popery. 
Every  sect  exercises  an  influence  in  correcting 
the  errors  of  others ;  while  important  truths  are 
only  cherished  with  a  heartier  zeal. 

That  the  writings  of  Belsham,  Priestly  and 
others  had  some  influence  on  a  few  of  the  educated 
men  of  Home  is  beyond  doubt.  Still,  on.  minds 
not  previously  prepared  for  them,  by  the  causes  ad- 
verted to,  and  other  agencies  of  like  character, 
they  had  little  power.  No  reasonings  ever  led  a 
truly  converted  man  to  deny  the  doctrines  of  de- 
pravity and  regeneration.  No  arguments  against 
the  Deity  and  atonement  of  our  Saviour  ever  shook 
the  faith  of  one  who  enjoyed  daily  communion  with 
him.  But  the  reasoning  intellect  not  irradiated 
by  the  love  of  the  Spirit,  is  more  easily  led  astray. 
The  more  local  causes  of  declension  at  Home 
are  not  without  general  interest.  For  the  causes 
that  aflect  the  spiritual  life  of  communities  are 
much  the  same,  everywhere. 

Almost  one  hundred  years  ago,  after  the  death 
of  a  venerable  and  faithful  pastor,  under  whose 
ministry  the  last  "  revival"  had  occurred,  a  young 
man,  eminent  for  his  learning,  his  winning  man- 
ners, his  fervid  eloquence,  but  without  the  love  of 
God  in  his  heart,  became  a  candid  ate  for  settlement. 
4 


38 


Won  by  his  attractive  qualities,  more  than  usual 
haste  was  made  to  engage  him  to  become  the  pastor 
of  one  of  the  churches.  Amiable  and  correct  in 
his  deportment,  this  young  man  had  imbibed  views 
approaching  as  nearly  to  Deism  as  those  of  any  of 
his  successors  in  our  time.  There  was  no  dissent 
from  doctrines  contained  in  the  creed  of  the 
church,  and  cherished  in  the  hearts  of  the  pious. 
He  avoided  the  discussion  of  them,  or  else,  endeav- 
ored, as  he  said,  to  divest  them  of  the  needless  phi- 
losophy of  other  days  in  which  they  were  clothed. 
Whether,  like  some  in  our  day,  he  had  discovered 
errors  in  the  ethical  views  of  the  apostles,  I  know 
not.  But  his  preaching  was  not  such  as  the 
fathers  loved.  The  worldly  part  of  the  church 
were  pleased  with  one  who  did  not  disturb  them 
with  new  demands  on  their  affections,  in  God's 
behalf  It  was  known  that  he  was  not  a  "  high- 
toned  Calvinist,"  as  spiritual  men  already  began 
to  be  called.  But  few  suspected  that  he  did  not 
believe  in  the  modified  faith  of  the  "  moderates"  of 
the  time.  His  brief  ministry,  brief  for  those  days, 
ten  years,  was  closed  by  his  death.  But  the 
poison  distilled  so  sweetly  from  his  lips  had  spread 
widely,  and  prepared  the  way  for  his  successor. 
Nearly  contemporary  with  him,  in  the  other 
church,  presided  one  of  the  fairest  intellects  that 


HOME.  39 

adorned  the  annals  of  New  England,  afterwards  the 
head  of  our  leading  University.  Predominant  in 
genius,  varied  and  profound  learning,  eloquence 
that  charmed  the  wisest  into,  at  least  a  momenta- 
ry forgetfulness  of  his  errors,  this  eminent  man 
united  a  deep  rooted  hostility  to  spiritual  religion, 
with  those  doctrinal  errors  by  which,  alone,  he  is 
now  widely  known  to  mankind.  He  was  the  first 
author  in  our  land  who  sought  to  shake  the  faith 
of  men  in  the  justice  of  the  retributions  of  eter- 
nity. Every  scholar  has  read  his  treatise,  and 
the  reply  to  it  by  the  Master  Spirit  of  that  age, 
and  yet  the  humble  preacher  of  a  spiritual   faith. 

The  great  errorist  did  not  so  openly  assail  the 
other  doctrines  of  the  Bible.  He  hinted  doubts 
whether  the  depravity  of  the  heart  was  entire; 
whether  man's  dependence  on  divine  grace  was 
complete;  urged  more  strongly  man's  freedom  of 
action  ;  and  dwelt  chiefly,  in  his  preaching,  on 
the  effects  of  religion  on  the  social  charities  of  life. 

His  eloquence  in  the  pulpit,  and  the  influence  of 
his  writings  did  very  much  to  shake  the  faith  of  the 
younger  part  of  the  people  in  Home,  and  all  the 
surrounding  country.  Two  such  eloquent  and  pop- 
ular men,  both  without  Christ  in  their  hearts,  both 
avoiding  every  doctrine  obnoxious  to  human  pride ; 
both  learned,  commanding  the  respect  of  all  their 


40  HOME. 

generation,  might  have  made  shipwreck  of  the  faith 
of  the  people,  almost,  had  no  other  agencies  been 
at  work  for  that  end.  If  they  could  not  move  the 
matured  disciple  from  his  steadfastness,  they  might, 
and  did  prepare  a  new  race,  to  stand  in  the  room 
of  their  pious  fathers,  without  the  same  zeal  for 
pure  principles  and  holy  living.  What  lessons  are 
these  of  the  need  of  looking  first  for  holiness,  next 
for  soundness  in  the  faith  of  those  to  whom  we  en- 
trust the  care  of  souls  !  I  speak  of  both  of  these 
men  as  without  spirituality.  An  unconverted  min- 
ister, in  that  age,  was  not  very  rare,  as  the  records 
of  the  times  too  certainly  prove.  The  churches, 
grown  worldly,  sought  and  found  pastors  after  their 
own  hearts,  and  those  who  avoided  the  "  offence 
of  the  cross"  voted  themselves  the/'  enlightened," 
the  "  liberal  party"  of  their  day.  Endowed  with 
intellectual  resources,  many  of  them  were  above 
their  fellows.  But  their  wisdom  was  that  of 
"  this  world,"  which  is  "  foolishness  with  God." 
One  fact  deserves  mention,  both  as  an  instance 
and  a  proof  of  the  feelings  of  the  great  man.  No 
one  now  doubts — whatever  may  be  his  creed — that 
Wesley  and  Whitefield  were  "  chosen  vessels"  of 
mercy  to  revive  spiritual  life  in  the  Protestant  world. 
The  one  founded  a  community,  tireless  in  their  be- 
neficent labors  for  the  good  of  man.     The  other, 


HOME 


4i 


though  he  gave  his  name  to  no  sect,  exerted  per- 
haps a  wider  influence,  by  his  preaching  in  reviv- 
ing the  life  of  religion  in  all  sects.  His  sermons 
were  not  very  logical  or  didactic.  But  with  an 
eloquence  never  surpassed,  and  a  pathos  that  mov- 
ed the  heart,  "day  and  night,  with  tears"  he  preach- 
ed the  simple  and  majestic  doctrines  of  redemption. 
The  worldly  ministers  and  churches  resisted  his  la- 
bors. But  to  all  who  received  him,  God  made  him 
the  source  of  the  richest  spiritual  gifts.  The  pas- 
tors of  Home  not  only  refused  to  receive  White- 
field,  or  bid  him  God  speed  !  but  took  the  lead  in 
the  remonstrances  of  the  worldly  lovers  of  ease 
against  his  labors. 

Such  a  "  comet"  was  not  to  be  sutfered.  Such 
**  excitements  crazed  men,"  instead  of  imbuing 
their  minds  with  '*  rational  views  of  religion." 
The  people  followed  the  example  of  their  pastors, 
and  the  pall  of  spiritual  death  gathered  more  dark- 
ly over  them. 

The  creeds  of  the  churches  were  still  adhered 
to  in  form  ;  and  sounder  models  of  a  saving  faith 
are  seldom  to  be  found  ;  but  it  is  doubtful  wheth- 
er at  this  period,  one  half  the  people  believed  them. 

I  shall  not  confine  myself  to  precise  dates  or 
the  order  of  events.  The  war  of  the  Revolution 
followed,  preceded  by  years  of  bloody  struggle 
4* 


42 


HOME 


with  the  French  and  Indians,  in  which  many  a 
soldier  from  Home  gallantly  discharged  a  soldier's 
duty. 

War  is  the  scourge  of  God,  with  which  he 
chastises  guilty  nations.  When  waged  for  the 
noblest  objects,  to  obtain  or  preserve  civil,  per- 
sonal or  religious  liberty,  it  is  still  a  fearful  curse. 
It  substitutes  the  laio  of  force  for  the  rules  of  right 
and  justice.  It  sanctions  every  disregard  of  the 
rights  of  mankind,  given  them  by  God  their  Cre- 
ator, in  order  to  inflict  the  greatest  possible  evils 
on  those  whom  we  are  bound  to  love  as  our  breth- 
ren, and  to  benefit  as  the  sons  of  one  father.  Pro- 
perty, purity,  honor,  life,  all  fall  a  sacrifice  to  its 
power.  And  no  man  can  inflict  such  evils  upon 
another  without  diminishing  in  his  own  heart,  the 
sense  of  the  sacred  nature  of  the  obligation  to  re- 
spect all  these,  in  all  men.  God  never  made  one 
man  or  nation  to  be  the  enemy  of  another.  Wars 
and  fightings  are  the  product  of  "  lusts,"  wicked 
passions  alone.  The  "  religious"  wars  that  fol- 
lowed the  Reformation  almost  destroyed  the  im- 
mediate spiritual  benefits  of  that  great  awakening 
of  the  human  soul  to  light  and  pardon.  Our  own 
Revolution,  though  exempt  from  some  of  the  evils 
that  have  followed  in  the  train  of  war,  brought 
curses  as  well  as  blessings  with  it.     I  speak  not 


HOME.  4d 

of  the  sacking  and  burning  of  towns,  the  plunder- 
ing of  the  hamlet  and  farm,  the  waste  of  life 
and  vast  loss  of  property  in  other  forms.  All  these 
are  evils  that  pass  away  in  half  a  generation,  and 
are  forgotten.  But  the  moral  results  of  that  con- 
test were  not  all  such  as  the  patriot  and  the  Chris- 
tian could  desire. 

The  French  soldiery  brought  with  them  the 
coarse,  brutal,  but  witty  infidelity  then  rife  in  their 
native  land.  Multitudes  of  our  youth,  and  even 
eminent  statesmen  were  carried  away  captive  by 
the  ridicule  of  Voltaire,  the  eloquence  of  Rosseau, 
and  the  sophisms  of  Bayle,  Diderot,  D'Alembert 
and  their  co-laborers  in  the  bold  attempt  to  "  crush 
the  wretch,"  as  the  shallow  wit  of  Fermay  dared 
to  call  that  Glorious  One  "  in  whom  dwelleth  all 
the  fullness  of  the  Godhead,  bodily." 

Despite  the  efforts  of  Washington  to  repress 
both,  profane  swearing  and  intemperance  became 
common  in  the  army,  among  both  officers  and  sol- 
diers. It  is  said  that  a  profane  oath  was  never 
known  in  Home,  before  the  war.  The  vice  be- 
came frequent,  on  the  return  of  the  soldiers. 
Home  was  a  patriotic  town.  She  supplied  more 
soldiers  to  the  army  than  any  town  in  the  country, 
in  proportion  to  the  population.  The  bones  of 
her  sons  repose  in  every  battle-field,  from  Bunker 


44  HOME. 

Hill  to  Yorktown.  But  of  those  who  survived, 
alas,  many  returned  to  scourge  their  families  by 
intemperance,  and  defile  the  ears  of  their  children 
by  their  curses.  The  young  are  eager  imitators. 
Their  nature  is  seen  in  the  readiness  with  which 
they  run,  not  walk,  in  the  road  that  leads  to  death. 
The  generation  that  followed  learned  a  full  mea- 
sure of  these  pernicious  ways. 

As  the  bitterness  of  that  contest  has  long  since 
passed  away,  and  the  descendants  of  whig  and  to- 
ry  alike  enjoy  and  rejoice  in  the  blessings  of  equal 
liberty,  we  can  afford  to  do  justice  to  those  who 
were  then  spoken  of  as  "enemies  of  their  country," 
I  mean  the  tories.  It  is  beyond  question  true,  that 
many  of  the  wisest,  purest,  most  pious,  liberty-lov- 
ing men  of  that  age  opposed  the  war,  from  its  be- 
ginning to  its  close.  Some  few  really  preferred  a 
monarchy.  Among  the  patriot  statesmen,  after 
the  war,  even,  such  a  party  existed  !  Many  more 
were  averse  to  severing  the  ties  that  bound  them 
to  the  mother  country,  at  least,  till  oppression  took 
forms  less  capable  of  endurance.  Some  did  not 
see  why  subjects  who  claimed  the  rights  secured 
by  the  Common  Law  of  England,  should  not  be 
governed  by  the  authority  of  the  king  and  parlia- 
ment who  were  the  public  ministers  of  that  law. 
Others  were  men  of  peace,  hating  and  dreading 


HOME.  45 

civil  strife;  but,  when  it  was  over,  quite  ready  to 
enjoy  its  results. 

The  tories  had  one  of  two  courses  before  them, 
when  Independence  was  once  declared.  They 
must  abandon  their  homes,  and  all  their  property 
they  could  not  carry  with  them,  and  enlist  in  the 
British  army,  or  flee  to  foreign  lands ;  or  else,  they 
must  remain  in  quiet,  waiting  for  the  event,  and 
submitting  to  all  the  exactions  of  their  more  patri- 
otic brethren.  And  it  is  capable  of  ample  proof, 
that  the  whigs  made  their  tory  neighbors  pay  far 
more  than  their  share  of  all  the  expenses  of  a  war 
opposed  both  to  their  principles  and  wishes. 

Nearly  an  hundred  of  the  most  substantial  farm- 
ers of  Home  were  tories  in  feeling.  The  town  re_ 
cords  show  that,  at  one  time,  as  many  as  sixty  were 
placed  under  the  special  surveillance  of  the  Com- 
mittee of  Safety  ;  the  helpless  lamb  in  the  lion's 
mouth  was  not  more  sure  of  being  made  a  victim ! 
It  is  amusing  to  read  over  the  doings  of  our  patriot- 
ic sires !  Large  requisitions  often  came  from  Head 
Quarters  for  supplies  for  the  troops.  Was  clothing 
wanting  for  the  naked  soldiers  at  Valley  Forge? 
The  Committee  of  Safety  discovered  that  their  to- 
ry brethren  had  sheared  more  sheep,  and  woven 
more  cloth,  by  far,  than  the  whigs.  Were  provi- 
sions needed  1     Every  one  knew  that  the  tories' 


46  HOME. 

crops  were  better  than  those  of  their  neighbors' ! 
J'liey  had  nothing  else  to  do,  but  to  till  the  ground  1 
Was  money  wanted  to  pay  the  valiant  defenders 
of  their  country  1  The  whigs  were  ready  to  sacri- 
fice life,  but  they,  the  tories,  had  such  hordes  of 
English  gold  !  So  in  all  cases,  the  requisition  was 
met,  in  chief,  by  levying  contributions  on  the  de- 
fenceless tories.  "  It  was  but  just  that  the  ene- 
mies of  the  liberties  of  the  people  should  be  made 
to  pay  for  their  want  of  patriotism.*'  Much  as 
our  whig  fathers  and  mothers  sacrificed  on  the  al- 
tar of  their  country,  no  one,  who  has  looked  into 
the  local  annals  of  that  time  can  doubt  that  the 
resident  tories  were  taxed  far  more  for  the  expen- 
ses of  the  war.  They  would  not  peril  limb  or  life  ; 
but  in  every  other  form  they  must  serve  their  coun- 
try !  Happily,  the  grandson  of  a  member  of  the 
Committee  of  Safety — the  tax  levying  power  of 
that  day — can  sit  with  the  grandchild  of  the  then 
lory,  and  smile  at  the  deeds  of '76,  and  rejoice  in 
the  freedom  secured  both  by  the  perils  and  trials 
of  the  time.  But  the  disregard  of  the  common 
laws  and  rights  of  property,  and  the  feelings  of 
good  neighborhood  and  social  life  was  not  without 
effect  in  hastening  the  decay  of  piety,  where  its 
fires  already  burned  so  dim.  Alienations,  jealous- 
ies, revenge,  remembered  scorn  and  party  bitter- 


HOME.  47 

ness,  the  inevitable  fruits  of  civil  strife,  are  not 
found  in  the  catalogue  of  the  graces  of  the  Spirit. 
The  public  mind  was  so  entirely  absorbed  in  the 
great  conflict,  that  even  the  forms  of  Sabbath  wor- 
ship were  often  forgotten,  and  family  prayer  omit- 
ted in  many  a  dwelling,  whose  heads  were  fight- 
ing their  country's  battles,  or  maddened  by  whig 
taxes  to  support  a  cause  they  hated. 

Down  to  the  beginning  of  that  war,  hardly  a  fam- 
ily or  an  individual  was  ever  needlessly  absent 
from  public  worship.  In  almost  every  house,  cer- 
tainly in  all  thoseof  church-members,  social  wor- 
ship and  the  instruction  of  the  young  were  not 
neglected.  *'  Oh  yes,  I  larn^t  all  that,  in  my  young 
days,"  was  the  remark  of  an  aged,  and  profane 
woman  to  me,  when  I  reproved  her  for  her  sins. 
"  We  all  larn't  the  catechise,  in  them  days,  and 
said  it  to  our  minister;  but  I  never  was  much  the 
better  for  it."  It  was  too  true.  Her  father  after 
fighting  his  country's  battles,  died  a  drunkard. 
I  would  not  have  the  reader  think  that  such  inele- 
gant phrases  are  common  in  Home.  They  are 
very  rare.  But  I  often  think  of  that  old  woman 
— one  who  was  very  kind  to  me  in  childhood, — 
as  one  of  the  sorrowful  results  of  the  want  of  an 
example  of  the  power  of  religion  in  the  parents, 
before  the  eyes  of  the  young — one  of  the  kindest 


48  HOME. 

hearts  God  ever  made  in  a  woman's  breast  was 
embittered  against  the  truth  by  a  drunken  father's 
influence.  Of  all  the  scores  of  our  patriot  soldiers, 
I  can  recall  but  four  or  five  who  died  with  the 
Christian's  hope.  Oh  how  many  went  down  to 
the  dark,  dishonored  grave  of  the  drunkard  !  And 
few  of  the  first  generation  of  their  descendants 
showed  any  more  proofs  of  spiritual  life.  From 
the  grosser  evils  of  war  Home  was  happily  ex- 
empt ;  but  its  moral  desolations  were  deeply  felt, 
and  there  was  less  of  the  power  of  religion,  than 
in  many  places,  to  resist  them.  Too  grateful  to 
our  fathers,  we  cannot  be,  for  the  legacy  of  free- 
dom they  left  us.  But  that  should  not  close 
our  eyes  to  the  evils  of  warfare,  even  to  obtain 
blessings  so  great.  Let  us  learn  the  lesson — so  de- 
basing to  the  glory  of  fallen  man,  that  a  warlike 
people  will  certainly  become  depraved  in  morals. 
The  highest  glories  are  those  of  peace.  When  the 
world's  history  is  reviewed  at  the  Judgment,  and 
re-written  in  the  future  life,  the  man  of  peace  will 
take  the  placeofthesoldier  as  the  only  real  benefac- 
tor of  his  kind.  Hasten,  O  Lord,  that  day,  when, 
"  No  war,  nor  battle's  sound, 
Is  heard  the  earth  around," 

but  Christ,  the  Prince  of  Peace  shall  reign  over 
a  world  of  holy  hearts  ! 


HOME.  49 


CHAPTER  III. 

Like  people,  like  priest — The  worldly  pastor  described — 
The  deist  in  the  pulpit — Church  discipline  neglected — 
Religious  ideas  lost — The  heart  wiser  than  the  intellect 
— The  deacon's  faith — Pure  faith  connected  with  pros- 
perity— The  ball. 

A  WORLDLY  flock  will  not  have  a  spiritual  shep- 
herd. Those  who  love  sin  do  not  love  to  be  re- 
proved for  it,  nor  will  they,  commonly,  bear  it, 
unless  the  reproofs  of  the  faithful  pastor  are  en- 
forced by  examples  of  holy  living,  and  his  hands 
are  stayed  up  by  fervent  prayer. 

Not  far  from  the  close  of  the  French  war,  a 
pastor  was  settled  in  one  of  our  churches,  who 
was  eminent  for  almost  everything  but  fidelity  to 
a  pastor's  proper  duties.  A  patriot  he  was  ;  none 
loved  his  country  better;  none  more  ready  to 
serve  her  and  exhort  others  to  do  so,  in  the  hour 
of  her  peril.  A  statesman  was  he;  none  were 
more  capable  of  sound  jud^ent  respecting  the 
measures  of  government;  few  more  decided  in 
the  expression  of  their  views.  A  gentleman,  in 
manners ;  dignified,  courteous,  refined,  at  least  in 
5 


50  HO  M  E  . 

his  earlier  life ;  amiable  in  his  manners  and  feel- 
ings. A  scholar ;  few  wore  the  honors  of  their 
Alma  Mater  with  a  better  grace;  he  deserved 
them.  A  wit ;  the  country  round,  to  the  end  of 
time,  will  remember  his  dry  jests,  his  proverbial 
sayings,  often  full  of  point  and  practical  wisdom. 
A  farmer  ;  his  sermons  on  agriculture,  on  soils,  on 
the  culture  of  fruit,  on  bees,  on  cattle  and  sheep, 
on  every  interest  of  the  husbandman,  would  do 
honor  to  the  orator  of  a  Cattle  Fair.  They  were 
of  much  service  to  the  labor  of  the  town.  He 
ever  inculcated  industry  as  the  highest  of  social 
virtues.  It  does  save  multitudes  from  sin  who 
would  perish  in  it,  if  they  lived  an  idle  life. 

He  was  social  in  his  habits ;  a  good  companion 
to  the  young  and  old  was  the  pastor  ;  none  more 
so.  Every  one  welcomed  him,  for  they  expected 
instruction  or  amusement,  but — fatal  defect ! — 
not  a  reproof  for  their  sinful  life,  or  a  warning  to 
repent.  He  had  a  fund  of  common  sense ;  no 
better  counsellor  could  be  found  in  the  affairs  of 
life,  none  was  resorted  to  with  so  much  confi- 
dence. He  was  respected  and  loved,  but  not  for 
his  fidelity  to  the  souls  of  his  people. 

That  he  believed  in  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity, 
his  papers  show.  But  he  held  it  to  be  too  myste- 
rious to  preach  upon  it.     Selfish  he  knew  men  to 


HOME  .  51 

be  ;  some  of  his  keenest  maxims  are  hits  at  man's 
natural  tendency  to  sin.  But  no  faithful  picture 
of  our  fallen  nature,  no  warning  to  ''  flee  from  the 
wrath  to  come,"  fell  from  his  lips.  He  used  to 
say  that  his  "  young  people  were  very  good  ;  he 
should  not  trouble  them  with  the  doctrine  of  a 
new  birth ;  he  would  be  bound  for  them."  The 
atoning  Saviour  he  did  not  know,  the  cross  he  did 
not  preach.  True,  he  never  derided  the  great 
Hope  of  the  guilty  ;  but  he  allowed  a  whole  gen- 
eration to  live  without  that  Hope. 

He  was  an  acute  judge  and  delineator  of  char- 
acter. His  funeral  prayers  contained  a  minute 
sketch  of  the  deceased  person's  life,  and  a  shrewd, 
often  very  humorous  delineation  of  his  virtues  and 
foibles,  and  even  of  his  manners  and  personal 
peculiarities.  Crowds  attended  his  funeral  servi- 
ces to  hear  this  treat ;  a  scene  sometimes  painful 
to  those  who  were  not  his  friends.  It  was  com- 
monly said  that  he  "  prayed  all  his  people  into 
heaven,"  though  it  was  sometimes  dryly  added, 
"he  had  very  hard  work  with  such  an  one!" 
There  was  no  reverence,  no  humility  in  his 
prayers ;  and  people  forgot  the  solemnity  of  an 
approach  to  the  throne  of  God. 

The  catechetical  instruction  of  the  young  he 
laid  aside,  on  the  plea  that  it  was  not  suited  for 


52  HOME. 

their  tender  minds.  Nor  did  he  ever  substitute 
any  other  form  of  imparting  the  truths  of  the  gos- 
pel to  them.  The  young  treasured  up  his  pro- 
verbs, but  these  had  little  to  do  with  Christ  or  the 
way  of  life.  At  his  death,  there  was  not  one  young 
person,  of  either  sex,  belonging  to  his  church ! 
The  use  of  the  creed  was  finally  laid  aside,  in 
the  admission  of  members.  Persons  of  good  mo- 
ral life,  were  never  objected  to  as  members,  be- 
cause they  had  not  been  born  of  the  Spirit.  All 
inquiries  into  the  state  of  their  heart  ceased.  It 
was  customary,  in  the  respectable  circles,  to  unite 
with  the  church  on  the  occasion  of  marriage,  the 
birth  of  children,  or  in  seasons  of  affliction.  It 
was  respectable  to  do  so.  Still,  the  members  of 
the  church  constantly  lessened,  till  few  remained 
who  had  not  reached  middle  life.  Gradually  it 
ceased  to  be  expected  that  members  of  the  church 
would  maintain  family  worship,  on  week  days,  or 
at  all.  At  a  more  recent  period  I  can  well  re- 
member when  only  two  of  that  church  ever  prayed 
in  public,  or  in  their  families.  But  one  church 
officer  did  so. 

The  pastor  visited  his  people ;  the  wealthy,  edu- 
cated, and  refined,  often ;  but  nearly  all  once  a 
year.  But  the  objects  of  pastoral  visits,  the  in- 
struction of   the  family,  and  the  acquaintance 


HOME.  53 

with  the  spiritual  wants  of  the  individual  members 
of  it,  personal  exhortation  to  holy  living,  and  even 
prayer  were  forgotten.  As  he  advanced  in  life, 
many  ceased  to  be  visited  at  all.  In  his,  and  his 
successor's  time,  some  families  could  say,  "  no 
minister  has  entered  our  house  for  thirty  years, 
save  at  a  wedding  or  a  funeral. 

As  pastoral  visits  ceased  or  lost  their  appropri- 
ate character,  the  people  began  very  extensively 
to  neglect  public  worship,  save  at  intervals,  that 
grew  more  and  more  rare.  When  the  pastor 
ceased  to  teach  the  young,  parents  soon  followed 
the  evil  example.  Family  worship  and  family  in- 
struction became  almost  equally  rare.  The  poor, 
and  the  distant  members  of  the  flock,  not  attracted 
by  the  preaching  of,  the  cross,  or  warned  by  a  faith- 
ful pastor,  ceased  to  frequent  the  house  of  God. 

In  the  other  church,  the  like  causes  had  pro- 
duced, to  some  extent,  the  same  results,  though 
a  spiritual  pastor  had  succeeded  the  great  teacher 
of  error,  and  his  labors  had  fanned  awhile  the  de- 
caying spark  of  holiness. 

Thus  lived  and  died  a  whole  generation  who 
"knew  not  the  Lord,"  with  kw  exceptions. 
There  was  very  little  positive  error  prevalent,  at 
the  close  of  this  period  ;  none  in  an  active  or  or- 
ganized form,  to  deceive  the  simple.  There  was 
5* 


54  HOME. 

not  enough  of  spiritual  truth  exhibited  to  alarm 
the  corrupt  heart,  and  lead  it  to  seek  any  theoret- 
ical "  refuge  of  lies"  to  sooth  the  awakened  con- 
science. The  pastors  to  whom  I  listened  in  my 
childhood  were  little  calculated  to  restore  the  lost 
soul  of  religion,  the  spirit  of  love.  They  are  both 
in  their  graves,  in  their  eternity.  I  loved  them 
both,  I  loved  their  children.  I  would  speak  of  them 
with  tenderness.  But  were  they  God's  ministers  1 
One  of  them  was  a  man  amiable  in  his  social  cha- 
racter, gentle  in  his  manners,  a  lover  of  children. 
Respectable  as  a  preacher,  he  rather  alluded  to, 
than  uttered  the  truths  of  religion,  which  yet  he 
did  not  really  mean  to  deny.  Probably,  till  near 
the  close  of  life,  he  lived  without  piety  in  his  own 
soul.  Still,  those  who  preferred  preaching  more 
directly  addressed  to  the  conscience,  and  that 
which  approached  nearer  to  the  good  old  gospel  of 
salvation,  preferred  him  to  his  co-laborer.  There 
was  not  enough  of  vital  power  to  rekindle  the 
flame  of  pure  religion ;  not  enough  of  error  or 
obvious  want  of  truth  to  destroy  the  piety  that 
other  causes  had  induced.  Of  the  other,  it  was 
once  said,  that  his  head  was  a  huge  lumber  gar- 
ret, full  of  every  kind  of  learning,  which  he  lack- 
ed the  skill  to  use,  A  poet  by  nature,  his  sermons 
were  often  beautiful ;    solemn  they  never  were. 


HOME.  55 

Elegant  in  person,  and,  when  he  chose,  in  man- 
ners also,  his  pride  made  him  unsocial  with  the 
poor  and  obscure  of  the  flock.     Visits,  save  to  a 
few  favorites  among  the  wealthy,  he  never  made. 
Few   believed  that  he  prayed  in   secret.      His 
public  prayers  were  well  described  by  a  rude  but 
clear  headed  laborious  man,  as  "  very  handsome 
compliments  to  the  Almighty."     I  have  listened 
to  the  prayers  of  men  of  every  sect.     It  is  often 
said  that  men  will  pray  the  truths  they  deny  in 
their  preaching.      Not  so  with  him.      I  never 
knew  another  man  in  whose  prayers  there  was  so 
little  recognition  of  sin,  our  dependence,  need  of 
mercy,  a  Saviour,  or  a  possible  future  retribution. 
With  him,  the  Saviour  was  a  man,  simply ;  a  good 
one,  though  not  free  from  imperfections  in  judg- 
ment or  opinion.     The  writings  of  the  apostles 
were  imperfect  records  of  a  gospel,  which  we 
were  to  believe  or  reject,  as  their  statement  ac- 
corded with  our  own  reason  and  advanced  state 
of  knowledge.      No  sacrifice  for  sin  was  needed. 
The  goodness  of  God  would  overlook  our  imper- 
fections, the  result  of  weakness,  more  than  in- 
tention.    The  heart  was  not  depraved,  but  pure 
by  nature,  as  an  angel's;  and  needed  only  an  ap- 
propriate education  to  fit  it  to  mingle  with  them, 
if,  indeed,  there  were  angels.      To  be  '*  born 


56  HOME. 

again,"  was  to  renounce  heathenism,  or  Judaism. 
It  applied  to  none  in  Christian  lands,  save  those 
of  openly  immoral  life.  If  there  was  any  hell, 
there  was  no  devil !  It  was  often  said  that  our 
minister  "  had  preached  the  devil  out  of  town," 
though  few  exactly  believed  it!  Eternal  punish- 
ment was  derided,  the  atonement  scoffed  at,  pre- 
tences to  spiritual  life  scorned,  evangelical  faith 
habitually  treated  as  a  pitiable  weakness,  or  fond 
superstition.  Such  were  the  lessons  of  more  than 
a  quarter  of  a  century.  To  such  lessons  I  listen- 
ed in  my  childhood.  The  doctrines  he  derided 
were  never  clearly  stated;  so  that  the  people, 
having  no  other  source  of  knowledge,  were  preju- 
diced against  truths,  the  nature  and  import  of 
which  few  of  them  knew.  It  is  no  strange  thing 
that  the  churches  became  quite  small. 

In  all  this  period,  church  discipline  was  utterly 
neglected.  I  can  recall  openly  profane,  drunken, 
lascivious  persons,  and  those  not  obscure  in  life, 
who  were  quietly  tolerated  in  the  church.  Indeed, 
I  remember  hearing  a  sermon  in  which  the  right 
to  define  the  terms  of  membership  was  ridiculed. 
The  practice  and  theory  accorded  well.  The  his- 
tory of  the  church  is  everywhere  full  of  warning 
to  fidelity  in  discipline.  Who  would  respect  a 
church,  when  its  richest  member  was  openly  al- 


HOME .  ^ 

leged,  without  denial,  to  be  an  immoral  man  ? 
Why  care  about  belonging  to  a  church,  when 
there  was  no  recognized  difference,  in  life,  spirit, 
or  future  hopes,  between  those  who  were,  and 
those  who  were  not  members  of  it '?  Where  a 
church  is  kept  pure,  by  faithful  discipline,  and 
the  power  of  a  living  faith,  it  assimilates  to  its  own 
purity  the  world  around  it.  The  same  high  tone 
of  morals  that  reigns  within,  will  also  prevail 
around  it,  to  the  extent  of  its  influence.  But 
where  discipline  casts  no  immoral  person  out  of 
the  church,  the  power  of  the  church  to  purify  the 
world  is  lost. 

I  have  often  been  struck  with  the  dearth  of  re- 
ligious ideas,  in  communities  situated  as  Home 
once  was.  Even  the  highly  cultivated  and  litera- 
ry, under  such  influences,  have  often  not  the  least 
acquaintance  with  truths  familiar  to  the  child- 
ren of  a  Christian  household.  One  of  the  most 
intellectual  women  of  Home,  one  not  unknown  in 
the  literature  of  the  country,  once  wished  me  to 
explain  what "  we,"  (Christians) "  meant  by  atone- 
ment. She  had  never  known  what  ideas  we  at- 
tached to  it."  She  was  once  a  member  of  a 
church.  But  when,  as  sometimes  happens,  the 
Holy  Spirit  begins  to  teach  persons  so  trained, 
and  to  open  their  eyes  to  a  perception  of  spiritual 


58  HOME. 

things,  the  struggle  of  the  mind  with  its  own  ig- 
norance and  errors  is  curious,  as  well  as  painful. 
Conversing,  once,  with  one  of  the  purest  minds 
that  adorn  our  land — a  mind  so  trained,  but  taught 
in  heart,  by  the  Spirit,  to  an  extent  far  beyond 
her  intellectual  perceptions  of  the  truth,  I  saw 
evident  proofs  that  the  Life  of  God  was  begun  in 
the  soul.  The  spirit  and  power  of  Love  was  there. 
Self-denial  was  familiar.  There  was  a  deep  sense, 
a  personal  conviction  of  inward  depravity,  that  no 
teaching  of  man's  native  purity  could  shake.  The 
worldly  and  spiritual  were  clearly  discerned.  The 
doctrinal  views  of  Christ  were  very  defective. 
There  was  ?i  feeling  of  dependence  on  him,  with- 
out any  distinct  knowledge  of  its  necessity.  Said 
I,  "  do  you  not,  when  you  enjoy  prayer  and  com- 
munion with  God,  feel  such  a  love  for,  and  reli- 
ance on  Christ,  as  you  know  you  ought  not  to  feel 
on  any  save  the  infinite  God?"  There  was  an 
agitated  pause.  "  Yes,"  she  said,  "  and  it  has  of- 
ten troubled  me,  to  reconcile  my  theory  with  my 
heart."  The  heart,  taught  of  God,  was  right ;  the 
theory,  received  from  the  teachers  of  error,  was 
wrong.  With  others,  hearing  only  error,  and  not 
taught  of  the  Spirit,  the  ideas  of  the  gospel  are 
all  novelties.  With  the  Bible  in  their  hands,  and, 
sometimes  read,  they  seem  utterly  unacquainted 


HOME.  551 

with  its  principles.  It  struck  me  with  astonish- 
ment, once,  in  preaching  in  such  a  community,  to 
see  how  the  most  familiar  truths  had  all  the  force 
of  novelties.  It  requires  years  of  labor  to  make  an 
adult  mind,  so  trained  to  be  ignorant,  acquainted 
with  the  truths  a  little  child  easily  learns  and  often 
loves.  The  worthy  deacon  who  "  believed  as  the 
minister  did,"  but  was  not  sure  what  the  minister 
believed,  is  no  unapt  representative  of  this  class 
of  men.  Though  I  am  concerned  chiefly  with  the 
moral  and  spiritual  results  of  the  declension,  there 
are  other  features  that  have  forcibly  struck  me. 
True  religion  is  eminently  favorable  both  to  indus- 
try and  enlarged  enterprise.  Its  great  truths  give 
vigor  to  the  mind,  and  fit  it  for  success  in  worldly 
pursuits.  For  twenty  years  our  young  men,  if  they 
had  any  higher  enterprise  or  ambition,  left  Home 
for  other,  often  distant  places.  Few  of  this  class 
remained  ;  not  enough  to  supply  the  places  of  the 
fathers.  I  can  count  up  almost  twenty  old  family 
mansions,  inhabited  for  two  hundred  years,  that 
have  decayed  from  this  cause.  For  an  equal  peri- 
od a  visible  decline  in  agriculture  was  noticed. 
Good  farms  lying  uncultivated  were  not  rare. 

On  a  revival  of  the  early  faith,  both  the  agricul- 
tural prosperity  of  the  town  returned,  and  the  ac- 
tive youth  began  to  settle  in  Home  ;  till,  at  last,  in 


60 


HOME  . 


one  section  of  it,  a  village,  for  the  first  time  in  its 
history  sprang  up ;  a  village  evidently  gathered  as 
the  fruit  of  a  purer  religion.  The  connection  be- 
tween a  pure  faith  and  worldly  prosperity  is  not 
unknown  to  wicked  men.  I  know  another  town, 
where  some  men  who  were  bitterly  hostile  to  the 
truths  of  the  Bible  were  consulting  about  mea- 
sures to  increase  the  value  of  their  property.  Their 
village  seemed  about  to  decay.  Valuable  inhabi- 
tants were  retained  in  their  employment  with  dif- 
ficulty. "  We  must  have  a  church,"  said  one. 
It  was  agreed  to  by  all.  "  What  shall  it  be  ?" 
was  the  next  inquiry.  On  mature  deliberation, 
they  decided  to  have  a  thoroughly  evangelical 
church,  as  best  adapted  to  secure  an  industrious, 
pure,  refined  community,  increase  its  members, 
and  so,  ensure  the  enhanced  value  of  their  prop- 
erty. They  have  not  been  disappointed  in  the 
result.  And  some  of  them,  who,  in  enmity  to 
the  Saviour,  thus  acknowledged  his  power  to  ben- 
efit mankind,  have  since  learned  the  value  of  his 
grace  in  their  own  hearts. 

Return  we  to  the  darker  shades  of  the  picture. 
A  fact  occurring  at  a  later  date  illustrates  the  state 
of  spiritual  death  such  causes  produce.  There  is 
no  more  evil  in  dancing  than  in  jumping  the  rope, 
in  itself     The  abuses  of  it  have   armed   pure 


HOME.  61 

churches  so  generally  against  it.  But  it  is  a  cha- 
racteristic of  a  dead  foith,  that  no  ditTerence  of 
life  or  spirit  is  expected  when  persons  unite  with 
the  church.  A  young  and  tenderly  conscientious 
girl  made  a  profession  of  her  faith.  The  thanks- 
giving ball,  with  its  midnight  revelry,  occurred 
soon  after,  just  before  the  communion  day.  She 
was  invited  to  attend.  "  Shall  I  go?"  she  asked 
one  of  the  oldest  members  of  the  church.  "  Cer- 
tainly ;  it  would  be  foolish  to  decline.  Religion 
interferes  with  none  of  our  pleasures."  In  one 
sense  it  is  so.  It  requires  us  to  lay  aside  nothing, 
which,  on  the  whole,  is  a  source  of  enjoyment,  at 
least  without  supplying  far  higher  and  pure  sources 
of  happiness  in  its  stead.  I  never  heard,  in  the  old 
churches  of  Home,  any  difference  between  the  cha- 
racters of  men  ascribed  to  their  profession  of  the 
faith  of  the  gospel,  as  it  was  then  preached.  And 
there  was  no  reason  to  do  so  !  Our  Lord  told 
the  disciples,  that  the  world  would  hate  them. 
"If  ye  were  of  the  world,  the  world  would  love 
his  own.  But  because  ye  are  not  of  the  world, 
therefore  the  world  hateth  you."  The  amiable 
qualities  of  the  Christian  are  fitted  to  win  the  love 
of  worldly  persons.  But  when  the  difference  of 
principle  and  spirit  becomes  so  small  that  the 
Christian  or  professed  disciple's  life  ceases  to  re- 
6 


62  HOME. 

prove  sin,  there  is  no  ground  for  alienation.    The 
most  determined   lover  of  sin  need  not  hate  such 
disciples.     But  the  holy  are  like  the  refiner's  fire. 
Their   very   presence   is    a   restraint   on   sinful 
thoughts,  feelings  and   conduct,  such  as  wicked 
men  cannot  well  endure.     As  all  barriers  to  mem- 
bership were  laid   aside,   any  one    who  wished 
could   become  a    church    member,    whose   con- 
science did  not,   after  all,  whisper  the  need  of 
some  fitness  he  did  not  possess  to  approach  the 
table  of  the  Lord.     Even  when  the  pastor  invited 
some  to  unite,   conscience  led  them  to  refuse. 
And  though  the  church  danced  at  the  midnight 
ball,  not  a  few  disliked  to  see  the  minister  there, 
even  as  a  looker  on.     "  It  did  not  seem  right." 
The  office  reproved    their   folly,   long  after  the 
teachings  or   holy  living  of  the  man  who  filled  it 
ceased  to  do  so.     "  Stop  sinning  ;  the  minister  is 
coming,"  should  be  the  result  of  his  approach. 
And  when  he  lives  the  life  of  faith  on  the  Son  of 
God,  his  very  shadow,   like  that  of  Peter,  shall 
check  the   spiritual   disease   of  the  fallen  soul. 
His  voice,  though  melting  with  tender  love,  shall 
reprove  with  more  power  than  the  earthquake's 
terror,  or  the  whirlwind's  rage. 


HOME.  63 


CHAPTER   IV. 

The  shades  grow  darker — ^Pulpit  exchanges  with  errorists 
— 'No  social  prayer — The  closet  forgotten — Neglect  of 
Avorship — The  Sabbath  desecrated — Covetousness,  which 
is  idolatry:  examples. 

Whether  the  elders  of  the  present  race  of  our 
pastors  were  wise  in  refusing  to  exchange  pulpit 
services  with  the  teachers  of  error,  many  doubted. 
It  was  needful  to  show  men  that  such  teachers 
were  not  recognized  as  ministers  of  Christ.  And 
outward  conduct  impresses  most  men  far  more 
than  mere  words.  But  it  is  certain  that  this  non- 
intercourse  sealed  the  spiritual  death  of  many 
churches  in  which  a  "  little  strength"  remained. 
Their  pastors  deemed  themselves  insulted ;  the 
people  pitied,  sympathized  with  them ;  and  then, 
shut  up  to  their  lifeless  teachings,  they  refused  to 
hear  the  words  of  life  at  all.  Many  towns  be- 
came, at  once,  missionary  ground,  in  which  it 
was  harder  to  find  a  place  to  utter  saving  truth 
than  in  the  towns  of  Hindostan.  The  bitterness 
of  religious  strife  entered  social  life,  and  friends 
could  no  longer  speak  to  friends  of  Christ  and  God 


64  HOME. 

without  rousing  every  balefulpassion.  The  dark- 
est days  of  Home  were  subsequent  to  this  separa- 
tion, though  causes  of  a  revival  of  a  purer  faith 
had  arisen.  The  last  results  of  religious  error 
and  an  unfaithful  ministry  are  best  seen  as  they 
contrast  with  the  rising  power  of  a  pure  faith. 
Nay,  they  are  not  fully  developed  till  that  con- 
trast is  felt. 

Social  religion  disappeared  from  Home.  For 
eighty  years  tradition  has  no  record  of  a  prayer- 
meeting  in  the  town.  And  when  the  deistical 
pastor,  with  great  reluctance  consented  to  the  es- 
tablishment of  a  Sabbath  school,  but  two  mem- 
bers were  found  in  the  church  willing  to  pray  in 
public.  The  popular  feeling  respecting  prayer 
was  shown  in  a  remark  of  a  plain  man.  A  sick 
man,  in  a  dying  state,  wished  to  hear  prayer. 
The  pastor  was  absent.  None  could  be  found  to 
pray  for  him.  The  physician,  long  a  member  of 
the  church,  declined.  Alas,  he  did  not  pray  in 
secret  1  "  Why,"  said  the  man,  "  I  should  think 
the  doctor  might  have  prayed.  He  has  learning 
enough."  It  did  not  enter  into  the  man's  head 
that  a  humble  heart  was  the  element  of  accepta- 
ble prayer,  or  that  a  spiritual  experience  would 
fit  a  man,  however  poorly  gifted,  to  pray  with  the 
dying  far  better  than  the  possession  of  all  know- 
ledge. 


HOME.  65 

The  neglect  of  secret  prayer  was  nearly  as  uni- 
versal as  the  omission  of  it  in  the  family.  Not 
that,  in  hoars  of  sickness  or  danger  the  mind 
never  turned  to  God,  or  even  used  the  words  of 
petition  to  Him.  I  have  smiled  at  the  sensitive- 
ness of  many  when  I  have  asked  them,  '*  do  you 
pray  in  secret?"  Those  who  seldom  or  never 
did,  always  evaded  it;  often  with  some  marks  of 
displeasure.  But  it  was  plain  enough  they  had 
no  habits  of  secret  prayer,  no  stated  seasons  for 
it,  no  delight  in  it.  Among  those  who  do  pray, 
and  love  to  do  so,  it  is  always  easy  to  learn  the 
facts  respecting  their  habits  of  secret  prayer. 
They  have  no  motive  for  hiding  it.  But  the 
prayerless  would  not  be  thought  utterly  to  forget 
God  !  I  could  never  learn,  by  diligent  inquiry, 
that  ten  members  of  the  churches  of  Home  habit- 
ually prayed  in  secret.  Their  life  in  this  respect 
was  in  keeping  with  their  whole  conduct.  Pri- 
vate prayer,  social  prayer,  public  prayer,  are  all 
linked  together  in  the  heart  that  loves  to  pray. 
In  a  whole  church  one  is  not  forgotten  till  the 
others  are  laid  aside. 

The  neglect  of  public  worship  increased,  as 

the  power  of  the  gospel   ceased  to  be  felt  in  the 

lives  of  its  professed  votaries.     At  a  period  more 

recent,  less  than  one-third  of  the  adult  inhabi- 

6* 


66  HOME. 

tants  of  Home  were  habitually  found  in  all  the 
places  of  public  worship.  The  services  at  wed- 
dings and  funerals  were  the  only  occasions  on 
which  anything  like  religion  was  seen  in  this  dark 
group.  But  many,  in  sight  of  the  church  and 
the  pastor's  house,  were  equally  negligent.  Yet 
none  reproved,  none  invited,  none  warned  them. 
"  No  man  cared  for  their  souls."  I  always  set 
down  the  neglect  of  public  worship  to  the  want 
of  faithfulness  in  the  pastor.  Faithful  preaching 
and  faithful  pastoral  visits,  with  much  prayer, 
will  leave  few  or  none  to  neglect  the  public 
means  of  grace.  How  unlike  the  early  habits  of 
the  people  of  Home,  when  every  occasional  ab- 
sence was  matter  of  inquiry,  if  not  of  reproof! 

Sabbath  desecration  followed,  of  course.  There 
were  few  who  made  it  a  day  of  toil.  It  was 
rather  a  day  of  jollity,  of  social  visits,  of  idle  talk, 
of  rides,  of  wandering  in  the  fields  to  pick  berries ; 
a  day  of  pleasure,  instead  of  a  season  for  worship, 
for  reading,  for  prayer,  or  beneficial  converse. 
Labor  was  not  avoided  because  God  forbade 
it,  but  because  it  was  irksome.  The  holy  day, 
became  a  holiday  merely.  The  physical  rest  of 
the  day  was  enjoyed,  and  that  is  a  great  blessing 
to  man  and  beast;  but  its  spiritual  objects  were 
worsejthan  lost.     The  profound  religious  igno- 


HOME.  67 

ranee  of  these  neighborhoods,  by  dwellers  in  a 
Christian  town,  can  hardly  be  conceived.  The 
name  of  Christ  was  not  unknown;  but  his  char- 
acter and  offices  were  alike  forgotten.  Sinful 
man  does  not  "  like  to  retain  God  in  his  know- 
ledge." And  without  a  faithful  ministry  and  a 
living  church,  a  Christian  town,  in  a  few  years, 
would  relapse  into  virtual  heathenism.  There 
are  two  errors,  equally  fatal,  in  the  end.  One  is 
ultra  spiritualism,  which  is  so  holy  as  to  need  no 
Sabbath,  no  days  of  worship,  no  union  of  hearts 
in  prayer  and  praises.  The  other  extreme  makes 
religion  a  thing  for  the  Sabbath,  the  sick  bed  and 
old  age.  We  need  a  Sabbath  to  cultivate  our 
spiritual  nature.  But  truly  spiritual  affections  go 
with  us  everywhere.  The  merchant  of  Albany, 
N.  Y.,  who  asked  "  What  has  religion  to  do  with 
selling  lumber?"  had  as  little  correct  knowledge 
of  the  nature  of  true  piety,  as  the  man  who  needs 
no  hours  sacred  to  devotion,  no  Bible  to  guide 
his  already  perfect  mind  in  the  way  of  truth.  In 
Home,  in  my  young  days,  we  had  the  lumber 
merchant's  religion,  so  far  as  there  was  any.  It 
had  no  power  to  control  men's  passions,  no  in- 
fluence over  their  daily  business. 

"  The  love  of  money  is  the  root  of  all  evil,"  or 
of  every  kind  and  form  of  sin,  according  to  the 


bo  HOME. 

circumstances  in  which  the  covetous,  grasping 
spirit  is  placed.  Sometime  he  plunders  the  poor 
without  regard  to  law.  At  others,  he  uses  every 
unfair  advantage  within  the  letter  of  the  Statutes. 
The  poor  man  may  be  covetous,  but  in  the  rich 
only  does  the  sin  become  widely  injurious  to 
others.  "  Covetousness  is  idolatry."  No  surer 
mark  of  a  fallen  church  is  found  than  covetous- 
ness and  the  oppression  of  the  poor  on  the  part 
of  the  rich.  Some  of  the  richest  men  in  Home 
belonged  to  the  churches,  in  my  boyhood.  One 
of  them,  the  least  guilty,  increased  his  gains  by 
loans  at  usurious  interest,  on  mortgages,  which 
he  seldom  allowed  to  be  redeemed.  His  im- 
mense wealth  has  fallen  into  the  hands  of  the 
pious,  who  will  use  it  for  God  and  the  good  of 
man.  Another  died  the  owner  of  several  farms 
obtained  by  loans  on  mortgage  to  those  rendered 
needy  by  intemperance  and  other  vices.  For 
half  their  value  he  stripped  them  of  their  posses- 
sions, and  then  held  them  as  tenants.  What  dif- 
ference made  it  in  his  relation  to  the  church? 

Still  another  obtained  almost  equal  wealth  by 
means  more  openly  criminal.  By  the  same  sys- 
tem of  loans  he  obtained  control  over  the  poor. 
He   encouraged   their    intemperance   by  paying 


HOME.  69 

them  for  labor  in  rum.  He  despoiled  them  of 
their  earnings  by  settling  their  accounts  while 
they  were  half  drunken.  They  must  submit  to 
his  extortion,  or  be  turned  out  of  dwellings  no 
longer  their  own.  All  these  proud,  ungodly  men, 
were  members  of  the  fallen  churches  of  Home. 
If  they  were  the  worst,  they  were  the  richest. 
Their  sin  did  not  destroy  their  honor.  The  com- 
mon sense  of  mankind  might  decide  that  such 
men  were  not  fitted  for  a  holy  heaven.  But  none 
questioned  their  right  to  a  place  in  the  churches 
called  by  the  holy  name  of  Christ.  Their  power 
for  evil  was  greater  ;  their  breasts  more  harden- 
ed than  those  of  many  others.  The  naturally 
generous  despised  their  acts  of  meanness,  now 
and  then  brought  to  public  notice.  But  their  world- 
ly spirit  too  surely  reigned  in  the  churches  to  incur 
any  censure.  Most  men  did  not  see,  in  their 
spirit,  anything  so  very  unlike  their  own,  or  so 
different  from  that  of  other  church  members, 
as  to  require  rebuke.  They  died,  and  the  "  peo- 
ple made  great  mourning  for  them."  Funeral 
sermons  spake  of  their  social  virtues,  their  regard 
for  religion,  their  titles  to  the  esteem  of  their 
fellow  men.  Who  has  not  some  virtues?  Some 
qualities  that  win  respect  and  love  ?  When  the 
young  ruler  **  went  away  sorrowful  because  he 


70  HOME. 

had  great  possessions,"  he  showed  the  power  of  a 
worldly,  covetous  spirit  over  his  soul.  He  could 
not  give  up  all  he  had  for  Christ's  sake.  He 
would  have  been  a  worthy  member  of  our  church- 
es in  Home,  nevertheless.  Was  he  not  so  excel- 
lent that  Jesus  loved  him  ?  He  had  many  virtues, 
one  sin.  With  very  many  the  balance  is  very  far 
the  other  way.  They  have  many  sins,  few  re- 
deeming traits.  The  one  sin  shut  him  out  from 
the  favor  of  God  just  as  surely  as  if  his  head  were 
gray  with  a  life  of  varied  crime.  No  sin  now 
debases  the  true  living  churches  of  our  Lord  so 
much  as  covetousness.  To  give  that  which  is 
entirely  convenient  without  the  sacrifice  of  one 
hour  of  ease,  one  luxury,  one  social  comfort,  one 
mode  of  increasing  one's  gains,  is  all  that  many 
deem  requisite  to  illustrate  their  faith.  It  does 
illustrate  their  faith.  It  is  small  indeed  !  The 
few  who  give  more  freely  of  money,  withhold 
time  and  personal  labor  for  man's  welfare.  That 
is  more  valuable  than  money.  The  fewer  still 
who  appropriate  a  tenth  of  their  income  to  be- 
nevolence and  charity  have  reached  a  sublime 
height  of  self-denial  to  which  the  many  dare  not 
aspire  !  True,  if  all  the  churches  did  so  much, 
there  would  be  no  lack  of  means  to  renew  on 
earth  the  glory  of  paradise  in  one  generation. 


HOME.  71 

But  the  spirit  of  love  in  the  heart  is  even  more 
wanting  than  the  gifts  of  gold.  Both  are  needed 
to  fill  the  world  with  the  knowledge  of  Christ,  In 
vain  do  we  profess  to  consecrate  our  all  to  Christ, 
while  we  do  so  little  for  him,  and  by  our  life 
prove  that  the  spirit  of  self-denial  does  not  rule 
in  our  hearts.  As  well  might  Ananias  and 
Sapphira  claim  the  favor  of  God,  as  the  members 
of  a  worldly  church  who  profess  so  much,  and 
withhold  so  much  more  than  is  meet,  from  the 
service  of  God.  He  who  lives  to  himself,  is  not 
a  disciple.  He  who  heaps  up  gold  for  himself,  is 
not  the  imitator  of  Christ.  He  who  makes  money 
for  Christ,  is  a  rare  disciple,  and  may  be  set 
down,  with  a  degree  of  certainty,  as  one  "  whose 
life  is  hid  with  Christ,  in  God." 


72  HOME 


CHAPTER   V. 

Intemperance  abounding — ^Death  and  crime — ^Lewdness — 
The  sins  of  the  parents  visited  on  their  cliildren — a  true 
story — One  covenant  remembered. 

In  what  part  of  our  land  have  not  the  curses  of 
alcohol  been  felt,  in  every  form  of  suffering  and  woe 
by  which  man's  lot  is  made  bitter  ?  The  only  dif- 
ference in  the  degrees  in  which  the  woe  prevailed 
arose  from  the  previous  moral  and  religious  state  of 
the  community.  Sixty  years  ago  drunkenness  was 
rare  in  our  New  England  towns.  In  1780  a  vene- 
rable relative  noticed,  in  a  small  country  tavern,  the 
amount  of  liquors  sold.  It  was  three  barrels  annu- 
ally. In  1830  he  visited  the  same  tavern,  kept  in 
the  same  old  house,  hardly  a  shingle  of  which  was 
changed,  and  found  the  amount  sold  had  increased 
to  thirty  barrels  a  year  !  This  is  perhaps,  an  aver- 
age measure  of  the  increased  frequency  of  intempe- 
rate drinking  in  fifty  years.  The  impulse  towards 
it  was  given  by  the  habits  acquired  in  the  army ; 
and  the  rapid  increase  of  agricultural  products,  es- 
pecially  after   the   beginning   of   this    century, 


HOME.  73 

without  a  market  for  them.  The  cheapness  of 
grain  reduced  the  price  of  distilled  liquors  to  a 
point  without  example  in  the  history  of  commerce. 
When  the  religious  and  moral  tone  of  society  did 
not  arm  it  for  resistance,  the  tide  of  woe  flowed 
over  almost  every  dwelling. 

The  early  morality  of  Home  was  slowly  under- 
mined, yet  never  so  debased  as  to  make  it,  com- 
pared with  its  neighbors,  an  immoral  town.  At 
least  I  never  thought  so  ;  though  I  must  admit 
that  the  proportion  of  public  crimes  has  been 
greater  than  in  any  other  farming  town  in  the  State, 
as  the  records  of  our  prison  too  surely  tell.  Writ- 
ing in  the  prison  of  a  distant  city,  without  books, 
I  cannot  compare  the  statistics  of  intemperance 
so  well.     But  I  know  the  amount  was  great. 

In  a  neighborhood  of  about  two  miles  in  circuit, 
enchaining  the  most  refined  portion  of  Home,  the 
number  of  deaths,  for  fifteen  years  prior  to  1836 
was  about  seventy,  not  including  children  and 
youth  under  twenty  years  of  age — knowing  every 
one  of  them,  and  their  personal  history,  two  gen- 
tlemen declared  that  fifty  of  these  deaths  resulted 
from  intemperance.  True,  in  some  cases,  the 
disease  that  closed  life  was  called  "  fever"  or 
"consumption  ;"  and  was  so,  in  fact;  a  fever  of 
the  brain  and  a  consumption  of  the  vital  energy 

7 


74  HOME. 

of  the  man.  But  hard  drinking  brought  on  the 
disease ;  and  the  substitution  of  a  softer  name, 
only  served  to  hide  from  the  public,  not  from  the 
neighbors,  the  real  truth.  It  might  wound  the 
spirit  of  the  mourner  to  call  it  by  a  harsher  name. 
So  '  colds,'  '  fevers,'  '  asthmas,'  '  consumptions' 
and '  apoplexy'  were  suffered  to  give  name  to  the 
remorseless  evil  that  filled  the  drunkard's  grave 
with  victims.  Who  can  severely  censure  these 
cheats  of  affection,  which  sooth  our  sorrow,  and 
impose  on  no  one  !  Those  who  were  thus  cut 
down,  were  of  every  class  in  society,  every  age 
and  both  sexes.  Intemperate  women  alway?^  died 
of  consumption  and  fevers  !  In  the  darkest  hours 
of  the  reign  of  alcohol,  the  idea  of  a  drunken 
looman  was  abhorrent  to  public  feeling,  at  Home. 
Such  things  existed,  but  little  was  said  of  them. 
In  my  own  history  occurred  another  proof  of  the 
vices  of  alcohol.  My  venerable  guardian,  one  of 
the  best  guardians  an  orphan  ever  had,  on  the 
final  adjustment  of  our  accounts,  exhibited  an 
item  of  nearly  a  thousand  dollars  of  uncollected 
debts.  Filled  with  surprise,  I  asked  the  reason. 
With  deep  emotion  he  replied,  '*  It  would  have 
turned  forty  families  out  of  doors  to  do  it."  They 
were  debts  for  liquors,  sold  by  the  small  quantity, 
in  those  days  of  darkness  when  kind,  good  men 


HOME.  75 

were  blinded  to  the  evils  of  this  traffic.  I  knew 
the  history  of  every  family.  They  were  all  poor, 
-after  the  lapse  of  eighteen  years.  A  score  of 
bodies  had  been  carried  from  their  dilapidated 
houses  to  the  drunkard's  grave.  Vice,  misery, 
want  clung  to  them.  Lewdness,  petty  thefts, 
brawls,  idleness,  rags,  disease,  sudden  death, 
there,  as  elsewhere,  followed  in  the  train  o^  Rum. 
Wli^  shall  not  bless  God  for  the  dawn  of  the 
bright  day  of  total  abstinence  ?  To  scores  of 
families  in  Home  it  has  carried  peace,  and  prepar- 
ed the  way  for  the  reception  of  spiritual  blessings. 

Vice  and  irreligion  help  each  other.  The 
vicious  hate  the  purity  of  the  gospel.  The  votaries 
of  a  lax  faith  have  lost  the  highest  restraints  upon 
crime.  The  cross  has  more  power  to  purify  the 
social  life  than  all  the  maxims  of  prudence  or  the 
motives  that  appeal  to  man's  fears  and  hopes. 

So  few,  out  of  the  circle  of  "  moral  reform" 
agencies  are  aware  of  the  extent  of  the  sin  of 
lewdness,  that  it  is  difficult  to  speak  of  it  without 
exciting  prejudice  and  giving  offence.  That  it 
was  more  prevalent  in  Home  during  the  last  gen- 
eration than  the  present,  or  in  any  previous  period 
of  its  history,  is  beyond  all  doubt.  That  men 
high  in  rank  were  not  free  from  it  is  known. 
The  extent  to  which  it  prevailed   among  the   in- 


76  HOME. 

temperate  and  the  ignorant,  who  were,  by  the 
causes  already  narrated,  thrown  beyond  the  reach 
of  such  religious  influences  as  existed,  can  hardly 
be  known.  The  evil  began  to  pass  away  before 
the  public  mind  was  roused  to  its  enormity  or  its 
extent.  In  one  respect  I  always  admired  the 
feelings  common  in  Home,  on  this^  topic.  The 
fallen  woman  was  an  object  of  pity,  not  of  con- 
tempt and  scorn.  Drive  the  lewd  man  fromifoci- 
ety  if  you  will,  but  welcome  his  victim  back  to 
the  paths  of  virtue  and  honor. 

In  no  other  instance  is  that  fearful  law  of  retri- 
bution, the  ''  visiting  of  the  sins  of  the  fathers  upon 
their  children,"  so  frequently  illustrated  as  in 
this.  The  wealthiest,  and  one  of  the  most  honor- 
ed men  in  Home,  in  a  past  generation,  was  a 
libertine.  One  son  inherited  his  wealth,  his 
honors.  He,  too,  followed  in  the  same  career  of 
sin.  In  the  third  generation  his  name  and  race 
were  extinct.  Another  instance  of  it  I  must  not 
omit,  for  the  striking  lessons  it  imparts. 

D.  was  a  well-educated  girl,  belonging  to  a 
wealthy  family  of  Home.  Endowed  with  superior 
talents,  and  remarkable  personal  beauty  and  grace, 
her  intense  vanity,  and  strong  passions,  without  the 
restraints  of  the  gospel,  made  her  an  almost  wil- 
ling victim  of  the  seducer.     He  was  a  husband,  a 


HOME.  77 

father.  She  fled  to  the  city,  to  hide  her  sin  from 
the  eyes  of  all  who  knew  lier.  There,  in  the  pro- 
cess of  time,  she  became  the  owner  of  one  of  those 
festering  sores  on  social  life,  a  public  brothel. 
In  that  den  of  shame  and  crime,  she  gave  birth 
to  two  sons,  Samuel  and  James.  Their  fathers 
were  never  known.  Not  wholly  lost  to  the  im- 
pulses of  nature,  she  loved  these  more,  worse  than 
orpnlins,  with  an  intense,  idolatrous  affection. 
Educated  herself,  she  resolved  to  spare  no  ex- 
pense, to  hesitate  at  no  crime  even,  to  give  them 
the  best  education  the  land  afforded.  Doubtless, 
too,  as  I  have  known  in  other  like  cases,  the 
guilty  mother,  her  spirit  gnawed  by  the  pangs  of 
remorse,  longed  to  save  her  sons  from  lives  of  sin. 
Such  inconsistencies  are  often  seen.  She  deter- 
mined they  should  never  know  their  mother's 
dreadful  trade,  nor  their  own  dark  origin. 

The  gains  of  sin  were  hoarded  to  be  lavished 
on  these  sons.  They  were  both  sent  to  Harvard, 
and  graduated  with  distinguished  honor.  Their 
minds  were  minds  of  great  power  and  brilliancy. 
Samuel,  in  that  part  of  his  career,  became  a  de- 
voted follower  of  Christ.  His  heart  burning  with 
holy  love,  he  decided  to  become  a  minister  of  the 
gospel.  Little  did  he  know  that  the  wages  of 
whoredom  supplied  the  means  of  his  support  at 


78  HOME. 

Andover;  little  did  others  suspect  it.  There, 
too,  he  was  conspicuous  for  his  mental  endow- 
ments, his  scholarship,  his  stainless  purity  of  life. 

James,  even  more  highly  gifted,  entered  the 
Harvard  Medical  School.  At  this  period  he  be- 
came acquainted  with  and  corrupted  by  the  vices 
of  his  mother's  house.  I  knew  him  well.  A  more 
agreeable,  well-informed  companion  one  seldom 
meets.  But  he  soon  added  intemperance  to  l#«vd- 
ness.  An  hospital  student,  availing  himself  of  his 
chemical  knowledge  to  neutralize  their  medicinal 
effects,  he  drank  up  even  the  tinctures  prepared 
for  the  sick,  for  the  sake  of  the  alcohol  in  which 
they  were  dissolved  !  Driven  from  his  rank  and 
profession  by  his  vices,  he  went  to  sea,  as  a  com- 
mon sailor.  Four  years  later,  rotten  with  loath- 
some diseases,  he  died  as  the  fool  dieth,  in  the 
same  hospital  where  he  had  once  studied  the 
healing  art.     The  sin  of  his  parents  slew  him  ! 

But  the  cup  of  retribution  was  not  yet  full. 
Samuel  early  became  the  pastor  of  one  of  our 
best  churches,  not  far  from  Home.  Clear  and 
forcible  in  his  preaching,  sound  in  faith,  warm 
in  his  affections,  he  was  useful  and  beloved  by 
his  excellent  flock.  His  works  praised  him.  He 
became  a  frequent  contributor  to  the  religious 


i 


HOME.  79 

press.  His  excellent  pen  won  praises  from  which 
his  humility  and  modesty  shrank. 

He  engaged,  with  applause,  in  the  controver- 
sies of  the  time.  Who  has  not  read  his  letters 
on  the  existence  and  agency  of  fallen  spirits? 
Ascribed  at  the  hour,  to  many  of  our  leading  di- 
vines, they  were  the  fruits  o(  his  leisure. 

As  if  Providence  would  not,  even  for  the  sake 
of  this  excellent  man,  waive  the  law  of  retribution 
— in  a  few  months  he  died  of  a  broken  heart. 
Men  said  disease  slew  him.  The  disease  was  a 
wounded  spirit.  His  pure  and  sensitive  mind, 
lacerated,  in  every  faculty  by  sins  of  which  he  was 
the  innocent  victim,  could  not  endure  the  load  of 
life.  The  body  was  broken  in  its  struggles  to  be 
free.     The  sins  of  his  parents  slew  him,  also ! 

The  wretched,  guilty  mother  still  lives,  lives  in 
sin,  without  God,  without  hope.  "  Keep  thyself 
pure"  is  the  lesson,  written  in  characters  o^ judg- 
ment by  the  finger  of  Providence  on  every  page 
of  man's  dark  history.  "  Blessed  are  the  pure  in 
heart,  for  they  shall  see  God." 

Nor  is  that  law  of  social  retribution  which  thus 
connects  the  sins  of  the  parent  with  the  life  of  the 
child  unjust,  or  intended  as  a  mere  punishment. 
It  is  designed  to  restrain  men  from  crime  by  the 
before-known  judgments  their  sins  may  bring  upon 


80  HOME. 

the  objects  of  their  warmest  love.  If  their 
children  imitate  their  parents'  sins,  their  doom  is 
plainly  just.  If,  like  one  of  these  young  men, 
they  turn  from  sin,  it  is  no  punishment  ^o  them  t(5 
remove  them  to  heaven.  While  their  sufferings, 
as  pure  and  innocent  victims  of  a  parent's  crimes, 
still  more  impressively  show  the  evil  nature  of  sin. 
The  law,  then  is  wise  and  beneficent  in  its  aims. 
It  is  only  the  counterpart  of  the  other  law  of  bless- 
ing, by  which  God  "shows  mercy  to  thousands 
of  them  that  love  him  and  keep  his  command- 
ments," and  to  their  children  for  many  genera- 
tions. 

If  the  sins  and  worldliness  and  departures  from 
the  faith,  in  a  past  generation,  brought  into  being 
a  race  *'  who  knew  not  God,"  no  doubt  the  same 
God  remembered  his  *'  covenant  which  he  made 
with  our  fathers,"  and  counted  up  all  their  fervent 
prayers  and  holy  vows,  when  he  began  to  revive 
again  his  work  of  grace  in  the  hearts  of  their  pos- 
terity, in  our  own  day.  The  sacred  spot  where 
the  first  family  altar  was  built  in  Home,  and 
where  seven  generations  offered  the  sacrifices  of 
prayer  and  praise,  cannot,  will  not,  in  coming 
time,  be  the  home  of  unbelief  and  sin  !  No,  our 
fathers'  God  will  not  so  forget  his  mercy  1 
Though,  for  a  brief  space,  "  he  hid,  as  it  were. 


I 


HOME.  81 

his  face  from  us,"  he  will  return  again,  and  raise 
up  a  holy  race,  who  shall  keep  his  covenant ;  for 
he  will  write  it  in  their  hearts.  "  He  is  God, 
the  faithful  God,  which  keepeth  covenant  and 
mercy  with  them  that  love  him  and  keep  his  com- 
mandments, to  a  thousand  generations." 

In  vain  does  error  vaunt  itself  on  its  temporary 
possession,  of  the  houses  where  our  fathers  wor- 
shipped, and  the  funds  they  devoted  to  the  sup- 
port of  the  worship  of  the  Saviour  they  loved. 
He  will  yet  restore  them  all.  Error  has  its  office. 
It  may  linger  still,  that  the  sons  of  God  may  be 
made  manifest  by  their  rejection  of  it.  Already 
its  power  over  the  popular  mind  is  gone.  The 
sentiments  of  its  votaries  are  daily  assimilated 
more  and  more  to  the  faith  of  the  gospel.  And, 
what  is  far  more  delightful,  to  a  true  son  of  the 
Pilgrims,  the  "  rock  of  the  Spirit"  in  the  hearts 
of  many,  in  the  fruits  of  holiness,  is  even  more 
manifest  than  the  evident  progress  in  correct  in- 
tellectual views  of  divine  things. 

So  shall  the  next  generation — that  in  which 
my  children  shall  mingle — be  united  once  more, 
both  in  the  pure  faith  and  holy  living  that  pre- 
pared our  fathers  to  be  the  founders  of  a  great, 
and  free  nation. 


82  HOME. 


CHAPTER   VI. 

Party  spirit — Preaching  at  men — Uses  of  sects  and  parties 
— Bible  politics — Supremacy  of  the  Law  of  God. 

Party  spirit  is  not  an  evil  in  its  own  nature. 
Men  agree  in  their  views.  They  deem  them  im- 
portant to  their  own  welfare  and  that  of  their  fel- 
low men.  They  desire  to  see  them  adopted  by 
all,  and  controlling  the  actions  of  all.  The  laws 
of  their  nature  lead  them  to  associate  together  to 
spread  their  views  and  accomplish  their  designs. 
They  talk,  they  meet,  they  write,  they  print,  they 
sing,  they  pray,  to  gain  their  ends.  Common 
objects  and  pursuits  call  forth,  in  some  degree, 
their  affections,  their  passions,  their  zeal.  They 
become,  by  use,  and  feeling,  bound  to  those  with 
whom  they  labor  for  common  ends — ^just  in  pro- 
portion to  their  ideas  of  the  nature  of  these  ends, 
and  the  toils  and  difficulties  they  surmount  in 
gaining  them,  will  be  the  strength  of  their  union 
with  their  fellows,  and  their  alienation  from  those 
who  resist  them. 

All  this  is  proper,  is  right.     It  accords  with  the 


H  O  M  E  «  83 

highest  and  best  principles  and  laws  of  our  men- 
tal and  social  nature.  The  mind  and  heart  make 
men  partisans.  The  thoroughly  selfish  and  idle 
and  sluggish  only  are  not  so,  in  some  things,  at 
least. 

The  evils  of  party  spirit  are  found  only  in  its 
excesses  and  abuses.  With  our  fallen  nature,  it  is 
hard  to  avoid  them,  even  when  the  objects  we 
seek  are  high,  honorable,  holy.  If  the  objects 
are  right,  and  the  means  we  employ  are  wise  and 
right  also,  no  degree  of  zeal  or  party  spirit  that  is 
necessary  to  secure  the  ends,  is  ever  excessive, 
A  want  of  zeal,  iniBuch  a  case,  is  the  error. 

These  principles  apply  alike  to  the  religious,  the 
political,  and  the  social  concerns  of  man.  Those 
who  are  too  idle  to  think,  or  too  imbecile  to  de- 
cide, and  too  sluggish  for  action,  may  deem  other- 
wise. But  mankind  will  have  few  benefits  to  thank 
them  for.  Such  forms  of  party,  or  more  proper- 
ly, social  action,  are  needed  to  call  forth  man's 
highest  powers.  Men  talk  idly  when  they  would 
have  us  believe  that  they  can  banish  the  spirit  of 
party  from  politics  or  religion.  They  must  de- 
stroy man's  power  of  loving ;  nay,  root  out  every 
emotion  from  his  soul ;  make  him  indifferent  to 
the  approval  of  his  fellows,  careless  of  their  cen- 
sures, and  reckless  of  all  obligations  to  them,  be^^ 


84  HOME. 

fore  the  emulation,  rivalry  and  competition,  that 
form  the  grosser  elements  of  party  are  rooted  out  ; 
•grosser,  yet  not  evil.  The  evil  still  is  in  excess 
or  abuse.  When  party  is  directed  to  unworthy 
ends  ;  when  detraction,  slander,  forgery,  bribery, 
falsehood,  or  any  other  sinful  means  are  resorted 
to,  to  attain  them,  party  spirit  becomes  a  ruthless 
demon,  riding  on  a  stormy  sea  of  human  passions, 
dashing  its  waves  of  crime  over  all  that  is  pure 
and  valuable  in  man's  life. 

There  are  evils  connected  with  almost  all  sects 
in  religion,  because  men,  from  their  sinful  pas- 
sions, reject  some  truth,  or  exaggerate  its  value, 
or  resort  to  sinful  means  to  gain  power  over  the 
conscience.  But  the  benefits  of  the  competition 
of  sects  far  outweigh  those  minor  evils.  He  who 
would  blot  out  from  being  one  of  the  sects  which 
yet,  with  admitted  errors,  embrace  the  great  doc- 
trines of  the  cross,  is  an  enemy  to  the  hope  of 
man !  He  would,  if  successful,  delay  for  a  cen- 
tury the  triumph  of  that  Redeemer,  who  is  equal- 
ly the  object  of  supreme  love  and  reverence  to  the 
truly  pious  in  all  sects.  Every  evangelical  sect 
enters  some  neglected  part  of  the  vineyard ;  brings 
to  light  some  valuable  truths,  or  points  out  some 
new  modes  of  action,  besides  inculcating  the  great 
truths  in 'which  all  unite,  and  which  form  the 
proper  basis  of  a  Christian  life. 


HOME.  85 

» 

Even  sects  of  errorists  are  not  without  value, 
in  showing  Christians  their  sins,  and  compelling 
them  to  greater  fidelity  and  more  self-denial.  En- 
tire union  of  opinion  and  action  is  desirable.  But 
life,  power,  activity,  diffusion,  are  far  more  so. 
In  the  revival  of  pure  religion  in  the  Pilgrim 
churches,  sects  not  knownto  our  fathers,  holding 
views  in  some  points — as  we  judge — erroneous, 
have  acted  a  most  important  part.  Neither  here, 
nor  in  the  world  at  large,  can  one  common  faith 
dispense  with  their  labors  without  great  loss. — I 
never  preach  against  sects,  but  against  every  sin 
I  can  discover  in  any,  especially  in  my  own. 
This  is  the  true  road  to  peace,  union,  harmony, 
activity  and  perfect  love. 

In  political  life  sects  are  equally  useful,  in  the 
present  state  of  man.  They  are  no  longer  masses 
of  men  led  blindly  by  demagogues  ,•  but  minds  ruled 
by  thought,  influenced  by  discussions,  by  reflec- 
tion, by  principles  of  action.  There  may  be, 
there  are,  excesses  of  party  zeal.  Bad  men  are 
magnified  into  gods;  men  of  feeble  intellects  into 
giants  ;  corrupt  measures  are  made  to  seem  all- 
important  to  the  well-being  of  the  land,  in  some 
men's  eyes.  But  still,  every  contest,  governed  as 
it  now  is,  by  the  power  of  the  press,  that  is,  by 
thought^  read,  spoken,  reflected  on,  becomes  an 
8 


86  HOME. 

invaluable  part  of  the  education  of  the  national 
mind.  The  more  important  the  principles  invol- 
ved, the  more  excited  and  radical  the  debates  be- 
come, the  more  valuable  is  the  strife  to  the  inte- 
rests of  man,  end  as  it  may.  For  truth,  justice, 
right,  will  finally  triumph. 

That  the  occasional  excesses  of  such  contests 
do  harm,  become  the  sources  of  corruption  to  in- 
dividual minds,  and  of  religious  declension  in 
churches,  is  true.  In  one  or  two  periods  of  our 
history,  this  has  been  illustrated.  When,  for  in- 
stance, one  of  our  pastors  in  Home  so  far  forgot 
his  calling  and  duties  as  to  invite  a  gross  political 
assault  on  a  distinguished  statesman  in  his  own 
church,  on  the  Sabbath,  on  account  of  political 
differences,  it  was  a  gross  sin.  The  evil  it  in- 
flicted time  could  not  wholly  remove. 

The  heat  of  the  partisan  is  not  for  the  pulpit, 
or  the  Sabbath.  These  have  higher  aims  and  du- 
ties. Yet  is  not  the  pastor  to  neglect  to  preach 
political  truths,  at  his  peril.  The  Bible  lays  down 
the  principles  that  should  control  governments,  as 
well  as  individual  men.  It  leaves  no  community 
at  liberty  to  place  an  immoral  man  in  office.  The 
ruler  must  be  just.  He  must  be  one  who  will 
"judge  the  cause  of  the  widow,  the  orphan,  the 
poor,  the  oppressed."     To  vote  for  men  of  a  dif- 


HOME.  87 

ferent  character  is  a  crime.  It  is  every  pastor's  du- 
ty to  point  it  out,  and  warn  the  flock  against  the 
sin.  The  duty  of  rulers  to  regard  the  Sabbath, 
to  frame  just  laws,  to  protect  the  weak,  to  succor 
the  oppressed,  to  cultivate  peace  and  harmony, 
and  avoid  the  occasions  of  strife  and  war;  the 
great  principles  of  equality  and  purity  on  which 
all  laws  should  be  based  ;  these  are  as  much  a 
part  of  the  Scripture  doctrines  as  the  atonement 
of  Christ.  Even  the  claims  of  minuter  measures, 
and  particular  men  to  support,  so  far  as  these  in- 
volve moral  or  religious  principle,  it  is  sometimes 
the  faithful  pastor's  duty  to  discuss.  He  should 
do  it  with  dignity,  candor,  holy  zeal  for  God,  and 
human  welfare.  He  will  offend  some  ;  so  does 
fidelity  in  any  part  of  his  duties.  But  he  will  ben- 
efit and  please  more.  Some  forty  years  ago,  on 
the  eve  of  an  excited  contest,  a  single  sermon, 
by  an  eminent  and  spiritual  pastor  decided  the 
State  election.  One  who  reads  it  now,  can  see  in 
it  only  a  vindication  of  great  and  pure  principles, 
such  as  ought  always  to  regulate  the  conduct  of 
men  in  their  civil  duties.  The  separation  of  the 
citizen  from  the  Christian  ;  the  formation  of  one 
set  of  rulers  to  govern  the  man  in  civil  life,  and 
another  to  control  his  conduct  in  the  church,  is 
an  error  destructive  to  pure  morals  and  good  gov- 


bo  HOME. 

ernment.  If  the  citizen  shall  establish  rules  and 
laws,  diverse  from  the  Bible,  and  claim  for  them 
an  equal  or  higher  authority  over  him,  as  a  citi- 
zen, he  usurps  the  authority  of  God,  and  defies 
his  wrath.  There  is  no  surer  mark  of  the  fallen 
state  of  the  slave-holding  churches,  than  their  at- 
tempts to  cover  up  all  the  sins  and  crimes  they 
connive  at,  by  the  plea  that  the  civil  law  sanctions 
them.  Enough  for  a  Christian  that  the  law  of 
God  condemns  them.     So  in  all  other  cases. 

The  churches  can  never  regain  their  just  pow- 
er over  the  human  mind  ;  the  pastoral  office  will 
never  be  invested  with  its  proper  dignity,  till  the 
supremacy  of  God's  laws  over  all  the  constitutions, 
laws  and  civil  conduct  of  men  is  faithfully  enforced, 
on  every  proper  occasion,  and  felt  by  all  who  call 
themselves  Christians.  The  timid  and  sluggish 
shrink  from  a  bold  conflict  with  human  passion. 
They  will  "  preach  the  cross  only" — would  they 
did  !  Would  God  that  they  exalted  the  "  Prince 
of  the  kings  [rulers,  law-givers,  magistrates,  judg- 
es, officers]  of  the  earth"  in  men's  thoughts,  till 
the  power  of  His  cross  was  confessed  in  every  law, 
every  election  to  office,  every  form  of  civil  polity. 
The  idea  that  the  cross  has  relation  to  the  affec- 
tions only  ;  or,  that  it  is  the  object  of  the  gospel 
to  renovate  the  heart,  and  therefore,  that  the  pas- 


HOME.  oil 

tor  may  omit  the  plain  and  constant  enforcement 
of  its  claim  to  control  the  life,  is  a  most  pernicious 
error — "  1  aim  to  make  men  Christians  by  imbu- 
ing their  hearts  with  holy  love."  That  is  right ; 
only  "  go  on,  to  perfection."  Let  not  your  faith  be 
without  works,  or  fruit  in  the  life.  Let  not  men 
learn  that  they  may  consult  their  own  will,  in  all 
the  laws  that  govern  the  rights  to  life,  liberty, 
property,  purity  and  honor ;  and  still  be  good 
subjects  of  Christ,  if  they  regard  his  will  in  their 
other  relations  and  personal  concerns.  The 
great  idea  of  the  gospel  is,  that  Christ  jnust  rule 
the  whole  man,  in  all  his  life,  all  his  relations,  all 
his  duties.  It  is  not  the  Christian's  aim  to  gov- 
ern his  affections,  only,  or  his  conduct  in  private 
life  alone,  or  his  public  action  merely,  by  the 
laws  of  the  Bible.  Each  and  all,  from  his  birth 
till  he  enters  the  Permanent  Life  before  him,  are 
to  be  governed  by  the  word  of  God.  To  enforce 
a  wicked  law,  as  a  magistrate,  is  much  more  wick- 
ed than  to  violate,  in  single  cases,  a  just  law.  The 
evil  is  greater,  longer,  and  more  widely  felt.  To 
forget  our  social  duties  to  our  neighbors,  is,  in 
some  respects,  a  greater  evil,  than  to  cherish  sin 
in  our  own  hearts,  for  the  same  reason.  But  in 
the  well  instructed,  living,  loving  disciple,  the 
holy  affections  that  rule  his  heart  will  secure  the 
8* 


90  H  OM  E. 

control  of  holy  principles  over  every  part  of  his 
outward  life.  The  corrupt  politician  is  not  a  good 
Christian.  The  maker  and  executor  of  wicked 
laws  cannot  truly  and  really  obey  God  (from  the 
heart).  They  "  tithe  the  mint,  anise  and  cumin," 
yet  allow  their  conduct,  when  it  concerns  the  so- 
cial welfare  of  thousands  to  be  such  as  God  ab- 
hors and  his  word  condemns.  "  The  weightier 
matters"  are  not  done.  Not  so  can  they  please 
or  honor  God.  How  is  it  men,  who  in  other 
points  of  view,  seem  to  be  good  men,  justify  them- 
selves in  such  errors  ?  The  truth  is  this,  our 
consciences  are  at  rest,  and  we  hope  for  Divine 
favor,  when  we  conform  to  the  standard  oj  du- 
ty in  our  own  minds ;  no  matter  how  erroneous 
or  even  criminal  that  standard  may  be,  in  fact, 
when  compared  with  the  law  of  God.  Hope  and 
peace,  and  devout  affections  can  exist  with  almost 
any  amount  of  error  and  sin.  And  the  moment 
the  supremacy  of  anything  butthe  teachings  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  and  Word  of  God  is  admitted,  that 
instant  we  lay  the  basis  for  false  hopes,  peace 
which  comes  only  from  our  own  hearts,  and  not 
from  God ;  and  for  a  devotion,  that,  however  sin- 
cere, pleases  God  no  more  than  the  equally  sin- 
cere worship  of  the  Brahmin  at  the  shrine  of  Siva. 
Isaiah  i.  and  lviii. 


HOME.  91 

No  doubt,  the  excesses  of  party  strife  had  some 
influence  in  destroying  the  remnants  of  piety  in 
Home.  But  there,  as  elsewhere,  the  neglect  to 
enforce  the  supremacy  of  God's  law,  and  the  con- 
sequent divorce  of  men's  religion  and  politics, 
had  a  far  more  disastrous  influence.  An  eminent 
statesman,  and  true  Christian  once  said  to  me, 
that  nothing  had  so  much  contributed  to  expose 
the  ministry  to  contempt,  in  our  country,  as  their 
agency,  in  this  divorce  of  spiritual  religion  from 
the  political  and  social  duties  of  life.  Men  want 
a  religion  that  will  regulate  their  daily  business, 
their  "  selling  lumber,"  their  voting,  their  travel- 
ling, their  social  visits,  their  entire  life.  Such  a 
religion  honors  its  great  Author;  and  the  vivid 
and  tender  and  bold  enforcement  of  its  claims, 
will  clothe  his  ministers  with  almost  Divine  power. 


92  H  O  M 


CHAPTER    VII. 

Relics  of  faith — A  mother's  spirit  in  heaven — Old  associa- 
tions— The  illustration — Old  books — Conscience  recog- 
nizes the  truth — ^Literature  and  religion — The  Li- 
braries— Home,  a  mission  field  ! — The  faithful  preacher 
— Social  prayer  revived — The  "  new  commandment" 
obeyed — Religion  and  education. 

The  stately  ship  that 

"  Walked  the  waters  like  a  thing  of  life,"   ' 

is  driven  on  the  rocks,  and  the  power  of  the  waves 
breaks  her  strength,  despoils  her  of  her  beauty,  and 
scatters  the  fragments  along  the  sands.  Still,  in 
every  piece,  though  it  is  incapable  of  giving  again 
a  home  and  a  shelter  to  the  bold  sailor,  the  eye  of 
skill  sees  proofs  of  what  it  once  was.  Science 
could  even  tell  her  tonnage,  her  model,  from  pieces 
hardly  worth  saving  for  fire-wood.  There  were 
relics  of  the  shipwreck  of  the  faith  in  the  churches 
of  Home,  long  after  they  became  "  dead,"  so  dead 
that  all  hope  of  recovery  by  a  power  from  within 
had  ceased.  But  they  were  few.  Thirty  years  ago 
there  were  only  about  twenty  in  all  the  town  who 
even  professed  to  be  converted  persons,  or  to  have 


HOME.  93 

had  any  other  religious  experience  than  other  world- 
ly persons.  Neither  of  the  pastor's  were  of  the 
number.  One  of  them  not  only  openly  admitted 
it,  but  ridiculed  all  pretences  to  regeneration,  in 
any  other  sense  than  a  reformation  from  vice.  Still, 
and  it  often  surprised  me,  the  people  habitually 
made  a  distinction  between  the  converted  and  those 
who  were  not !  Those  who  did  not  believe  that 
conversion,  or  any  internal,  spiritual  renovation  of 
man's  affections  was  necessary  to  fit  them  for 
heaven,  still  saw  there  was  a  difference  between 
those  who  loved  God  and  those  who  did  not.  Its 
nature  few  had  any  idea  of;  but  none  doubted  that 
those  who  spoke  of  their  sense  of  sin,  their  peace, 
their  hopes,  their  joys,  their  Saviour,  had  found 
in  religion  something  that  most  men  had  not. 
The  lives  of  such  persons  were  watched  with 
great  eagerness.  Every  error,  every  passion, 
every  natural  foible  was  noted,  in  contrast  with 
the  feelings  of  the  heart,  in  which  the  converted 
told  them  the  basis  of  piety  was  laid.  The  few 
pious,  at  this  lime,  were  either  aged  persons,  or 
in  middle  life,  with  perhaps  two  exceptions.  One 
of  these,  a  beautiful  flower,  in  all  the  sweetness 
of  its  bloom,  was  cut  down  before  the  Christian 
character  was  matured,  though  not  before  inti- 
mate friends  had  learned  to  love  it,  and  hope  much 


94 


from  its  fruit.  Blessed  mother  !  thou  art  among 
the  holy  ones,  who  stand  in  the  presence  of  the 
Lord !  If  thou  dost  ever  stop  praising,  and  cease 
to  strike  thy  harp  in  the  heavenly  choir,  is  it  not 
to  pity  human  woe  ;  to  succor  thy  tempted  child  ; 
to  wipe  away  the  penitent  tear  from  the  burning 
cheek,  the  cold  sweat  of  remorse  from  the  brow, 
and  pour  consolation  into  the  broken  heart?  Are 
not  these  the  work  of  the  ministering  spirits  ? 
Did  not  the  eye  of  boyhood  feast  on  the  spiritual 
beauty  of  thy  face,  the  beauty  of  death,  when  the 
eye  filled  with  rapture  saw  "  within  the  veil,"  and 
the  spirit  tasted  heavenly  manna,  to  give  it  vigor 
for  its  upward  flight?  Once  thou  didst  recall  the 
mind  from  the  heavenly  vision.  Calling  the  little, 
the  only  son  to  thy  couch,  the  thin,  wasted  hand, 
whose  soft  touch  is  never  forgotten,  parted  his 
light  hair;  and  with  many  a  murmured  prayer 
thou  didst  invoke  the  orphan's  God  to  be  his  father. 
"  Mother,  I  give  him  to  you,  train  him  up  for 
God,"  broke  from  thy  dying  lips.  And  then  thou 
didst  leave-the  body  of  death  to  put  on  immortal- 
ity. Mother,  is  thy  son  forgotten,  amid  the  blaze 
of  the  glory  of  the  celestial  city?  Does  not  the 
glorious  One  still  wear  our  nature?  Is  he  not 
still  "  touched  with  the  feeling  of  our  infirmities," 
and  alive  to  human  sympathies  ?     And  when  the 


HOME.  95 

circle  of  earth's  worshippers  bow  before  him, 
does  He  not  bid  them  cherish  every  pure  emotion 
of  our  nature  1  Is  a  mother's  love  banished  from 
Heaven  ?  Art  thou  not .  saying  to  thy  child, 
•*  Hasten,  put  on  the  robes  of  holy  light  the  Lamb 
giveth  thee,  and  come  up  hither  !"  And  when 
the  Lord  revealed  himself,  in  mercy  to  thy  child, 
and  said  his  sins  were  forgiven,  wert  thou  not 
there?  Was  it  not  thy  form,  thy  face,  thy  smiles, 
that  formed  a  part  of  the  cloud  of  glory  that  sur- 
rounded Him,  when  his  word  of  peace  was  spoken? 
Aye,  and  thou  wilt  welcome  him,  with  all  a 
mother's  holy  heart,  when,  perhaps  thy  own  gen- 
tle hand  does  death's  office,  to  open  before  his 
eyes  the  glory  on  which  thou  didst  look,  when 
thy  dying  lips  blessed  him.  Blessed  mother,  thy 
son  will  come  !     He  longs  to  meet  thee ! 

The  few  really  pious,  surrounded  and  chilled 
by  the  atmosphere  of  denth,  just  lived;  their 
light  shone  not  brightly  enough  to  penetrate  the 
thick  gloom  ;  or  at  least  to  scatter  it. 

Those  who  love  error,  know  well  how  hard  it  is 
to  root  out  a  traditionary  respect  for  the  truths  of 
pure  religion.  The  very  words  of  the  language 
have  the  truth  so  associated  with  them,  that  no 
human  skill  can  ever  change  the  impression  they 
make  on  the  mind.     Those  who  sought  to  destroy 


96  HOME. 

the  faith  of  the  sons  of  the  Pilgrims  knew  it  well. 
Hence  in  years  gone  by,  their  watchful  endeavor 
to  avoid  all  those  terms  in  customary  use,  to  des- 
ignate the  several  truths  of  our  faith.  While  they 
spoke  of  the  '*  atonement,"  it  was  in  vain  to  try  to 
destroy  the'sense  of  dependence  on  the  blood  of 
Christ  for  the  pardon  of  our  sins.  While  they 
told  of  the  regeneration,  men  would  not  forget 
that  their  fathers,  and  even  a  few  who  still  lived, 
thought  that  man's  nature  was  corrupted,  and 
needed  an  entire  moral  change  to  prepare  him  for 
heaven.  The  omission  of  the  old  Doxologies  of 
praise  to  the  Father,  Son  and  Holy  Ghost,  alarm- 
ed the  consciences  of  men  who  had  long  and 
complacently  listened  to  teachings  that  denied  the 
doctrine  of  the  Triune  God.  *'  Our  fathers 
worshipped  in  this  mountain."  The  feeling  the 
words  express,  applies  equally  to  the  places, 
names  and  forms  of  worship  and  faith.  Men  will 
embrace  error,  because  it  is  preached  in  the  house 
where  their  fathers  praised  God  ;  they  would  re- 
ject it  in  another  place.  So  their  associations 
with  the  truth  lingers,  also,  after  its  power  over 
the  mind  and  heart  is  lost,  so  far  as  their  salva- 
tion from  sin  is  concerned. 

One  day  I  sat  by  the  side  of  one  of  the  most  in- 
telligent and  conscientious  members  of  the  church 


HOME.  97 

in  Home;  one  who  had  much  semblance,  if  not 
the  reality  of  spiritual  life.  Incidentally,  the  pas- 
tor was  spoken  of  as  not  believing  in  the  atone- 
ment. It  was  referred  to,  merely  as  a  matter  per- 
fectly well  known.  She  became  silent,  her  eyes 
filled  with  tears.  Her  heart  was  grieved.  For 
twenty  years  she  had  heard  the  great  sacrifice  for 
sin  denied,  derided,  treated  as  a  heathenish  cor- 
ruption of  the  faith.  Still,  she  could  not  believe 
it  possible  that  the  pastor  denied  the  atonement  ! 
He  certainly  spoke  of  it  in  his  sermons.  And,  in 
her  mind,  the  power  of  old  associations  connected 
the  good  old  Bible  doctrine  with  the  word,  in 
spite  of  years  of  false  teaching.  Her  own  hopes 
rested,  indeed,  on  the  faith  of  the  fathers.  She 
has  gone  to  prove  the  strength  of  that  tried  foun- 
dation !  When  did  it  ever  fail?  "  The  heavens 
being  on  fire,  shall  be  dissolved,  and  the  elements 
shall  melt  with  fervent  heat,"  but  none  who  ever 
reposed  on  the  atoning  blood  of  Christ  for  the 
pardon  of  sin  shall  find  their  hopes  vain.  Such 
faith  will  purify  their  hearts,  and  teach  them  holy 
living,  support  them  in  holy  dying,  and  open  the 
gates  of  His  revealed  glory  to  the  ascending  spirit. 
Another  thing  contributed  to  keep  alive  tradi- 
tionary respect  for  the  gospel.  It  was  the  multi- 
tude of  old  choice  books  in  Home ;  the  legacy  of 
9 


a  reading,  praying  race.  Every  old  family  dwell- 
ing has  its  relics;  a  volume  of  Baxter,  Bunyan, 
Mather,  Hancock,  Clark,  Owen,  Jeremy  Taylor, 
Henry,  More,  Carew,  Gill,  Latimer,  Horseley, 
and  a  score  more,  known,  read  and  loved  by  the 
earlier  generations.  Some  are  sadly  worn,  the 
old  clasps  gone,  a  cover  lost,  chapters  torn  out, 
volumes  missing;  but  enough  left,  and  taken 
often  enough  from  the  old  closets,  for  curiosity's 
sake,  to  keep  alive  some  regard  for  the  faith  of 
the  fathers.  Probably  a  thousand  unmutilated 
volumes  of  choice  and  rare  old  books  still  exist  in 
Home.  Those  who  never  read,  will  not  hear  of 
parting  with  them !  They  are  family  relics,  and 
bear  a  sacred  character.  In  such  an  old  torn 
volume  I  first  feasted  on  that  great  poem  for  all 
ages,  the  Pilgrim's  Progress.  Invested  with  all 
the  charms  and  spirit  of  poetry,  without  its  forms, 
more  true  to  human  nature  than  even  Shakspeare, 
rich  in  all  the  varied  forms  of  Christian  experi- 
ence; it  is  a  romance  to  charm  the  young,  a 
guide  full  of  wisdom  for  the  most  gifted  and  ma- 
tured, Bunyan  was  a  man  for  all  ages  of  our 
race,  for  all  time.     What  a  crown  is  his! 

Words  are  ideas  to  most  men,  "  living  powers," 
as  Coleridge  has  it,  not  the  mere  vehicles  of 
thought.     The  power  of  the  old   associations  I 


i 


HOME.  99 

speak  of  was  occasionally  felt,  when  by  any  chance 
a  preacher  of  the  old  faith  entered  the  pulpits  of 
Home.  Such  instances  were  rare,  especially  after 
exchanges  with  erroneous  teachers  ceased.  But 
their  sermons  were  never  forgotten,  and  were 
often  referred  to.  If  the  pastors,  in  hours  of  sor- 
row, or  at  other  times,  preached  with  more  solem- 
nity and  point  than  usual,  the  remark  ever  was, 
*'  Why,  he  preached  almost  like  Mr.  So-and-So  ;" 
showing,  that  the  occasional  exhibitions  of  gospel 
truth,  and  the  force  of  old  associations  had  es- 
tablished in  the  mind  a  higher  standard  of  truth 
and  of  pastoral  fidelity  than  that  to  which  they 
were  used.  In  a  few  instances,  in  later  times, 
conversions  to  Christ  may  be  traced  to  this  source. 
The  old  cherished  family  Bibles,  in  which  often 
the  names  of  ten  generations  are  written  ;  the  old 
tomb-stones  that  even  novv  are  hardly  legible,  on 
which  their  names  were  again  inscribed  ;  the  old 
family  mansions  in  which  they  prayed  and  gave 
thanks ;  the  old  books  they  loved  to  read,  all  these 
must  pass  away,  and  mingle  with  the  dust  before 
these  old  and  blessed  associations  shall  die  out  of 
the  mind,  and  the  Puritan's  faith  become  a  mat- 
ter of  mere  history,  even  if  none  of  the  living  race 
still  loved  it  and  knew  its  saving  power. 

God  has  many  ways  of  reviving  the  power  of  a 


100  HOME. 

pure  faith  in  his  churches.  Sometimes  he  comes 
in  majesty,  "suddenly  to  his  temple,"  and  a  com- 
munity is  born  in  a  day.  But,  in  every  case  I 
ever  knew,  such  displays  of  his  grace  occurred 
where  a  large  number  of  minds  had  been  before 
instructed  in  the  truth.  The  power  of  sympathy 
is  essential  to  an  extended  revival ;  and  that  can- 
not exist  much  beyond  the  circle  of  those  who, 
in  their  understandings,  assent  to  the  same  gen- 
eral principles  of  faith.  Grace  acts  according  to, 
and  not  against  these  and  all  other  laws  of  our 
nature.  In  a  town  where  religion  had  so  decay- 
ed, as  in  Home,  a  longer  process  of  regeneration 
was  needed.  The  seed  was  to  be  sown  by  the 
way-side,  in  the  fields,  everywhere,  *  here  a  lit- 
tle, there  a  little,'  as  time  and  changes  fitted 
individual  minds  to  receive  it.  When  so  much 
is  to  be  done,  and  the  soil  to  be  tilled  is  so  little 
prepared  to  bring  fruit  to  perfection,  many  agen- 
cies are  needed,  before  the  golden  harvest  is  ripe. 
And  these  agencies  are  not  all  strictly  religious 
in  their  character.  The  revival  of  literature  pre- 
ceded the  religious  awakening  of  the  fifteenth 
century.  Indeed  the  latter  would  hardly  have 
been  possible,  without  the  first  to  prepare  for  it, 
unless  at  the  expense  of  three  more  such  centu- 
ries of  blood  as  followed  the  first  proclamation  of 


HOME.  lOl 

the  gospel.  The  same  work  indeed,  was  to  be 
done,  but  by  a  new  power,  that  of  the  press,  which 
gives  to  one  mind  the  influence  of  ten  thousand 
tongues. 

In  Home  the  first  agencies  in  the  revival  of  a 
pure  faith  w^-e  similar. 

•  Two  young  men,  men  of  intelligence  and  serious 
thought,  but  not  pious,  were  the  first  to  do  anything 
that  acted  permanently  on  the  popular  mind.  A 
social  library,  comprising  the  best  works  in  history 
and  general  literature  was  started,  by  their  agency. 
It  was  the  source  of  renewed  thought  in  many 
minds.  Quickened  intellects  will  often  turn  to  re- 
ligious ideas, — some  more  naturally  than  others. 
Emotion  follows  thought,  as  well  as  excites  it.  And 
the  value  of  the  religious  character  that  is  formed, 
often  depends  chiefly  on  the  state  of  the  mind  be- 
fore it  is  subjected  to  the  control  of  holy  love. 
That  these  young  men,  one  of  whom  had  a  pious 
mother,  and  the  other  a  native  of  another  place,  had 
ideas  of  religion  much  in  advance  of  their  townsmen 
is  certain.  They  saw  the  darkness  around  them. 
They  sought  to  remove  it,  by  such  means  as  an 
awakened,  but  not  renewed  heart  may  employ. 
Besides  the  general  impulse  they  and  a  ^q\n  others 
gave  to  reading  and  thought,  they  formed  an  exten- 
sive moral  and  religious  library.  It  embraced  the 
9* 


102  HOME. 

most  valuable  religious  literature  then  accessible, 
at  cheap  rates,  with  not  a  litile  of  error  and  some 
folly.  But  it  placed  the  works  of  Baxter,  Law, 
Watts,  Doddridge,  and  the  sermons  of  some  emi- 
nent American  writers,  together  with  much  reli- 
gious biography,  in  the  hands  of  marfy  who  had  no 
other  means  of  learning  the  true  nature  of  the 
gospel.  True,  the  "  veil"  still  remained  "  on  their 
hearts"  in  reading  these  volumes,  as  well  as  the 
Bible.  There  was  none  to  teach  them  what  these 
things  meant.  The  pastors  preached  nothing,  or 
else  in  opposition  to  the  truths  the  books  contained. 
Still,  it  was  a  dawning  of  light.  It  supplied  the 
only  religious  reading  known  to  the  generation 
then  on  the  stage,  save  their  occasional  glances 
at  the  pages  of  some  old  Puritan  volume.  The 
few  pious  took  great  delight  in  them.  The  natu- 
rally thoughtful  read  them,  with  care,  and  the 
fallow  ground  of  their  hearts  was  broken  up,  and 
in  some  measure  prepared  to  hear  the  truth 
preached.  In  a  few,  in  humble  life,  these  books 
perhaps,  became  the  means  of  conversion. 

Some  such  have  died,  of  whom  the  Christian  had 
hope,  though  their  light  was  feeble.     Piety  ob-J 
scured  by  error,  repressed  by  contempt,  with  none] 
to  cheer  the  heart,  and  with  imperfect  views  of  it 
obligations,  has  very  little  active  power,  in  the  ign< 


HOME.  tdd 

rant  and  obscure.  And  grace  does  not  so  violate 
nature,  and  set  at  nought  the  social  constitution 
of  man,  as  to  make  it  otherwise,  save  in  rare  cases. 
I  have  said  that  many  towns  became  in  fact, 
missionary  fields.  Home  was  so  in  every  impor- 
tant respect,  if  a  large  population,  living  in  igno- 
rance or  neglect  of  Christ  constitutes  one.  So 
one  of  the  few  godly  pastors  near  Home  regarded 
it.  He  was  a  young,  ardent  man,  pious  in  spirit, 
not  without  genius,  trained  in  those  clear  views 
of  doctrinal  truth  that  distinoruished  the  writings 
of  his  eminent  instructor,  the  late  venerable  pas- 
tor of  Franklin.  This  young  man  became  pastor 
of  a  church  in  a  town  adjoining  in  which  a  little 
light  lingered.  Henceforth  his  life  was  one  of 
toil.  His  style  of  preaching  was  bold,  fearless, 
manly,  full  of  reasoning,  sometimes  lofty  in 
thought,  and  sublime  in  denunciations  of  woe  to 
the  guilty.  It  lacked  somewhat  the  tender  spirit 
of  Christ.  But  for  some  classes  of  minds  it  was 
just  what  was  needed  to  break  the  slumbers  of 
ages.  He  sought  out  the  scattered  few  who  still 
loved  the  old  ways  in  which  the  fathers  trod.  His 
labors  were  blessed  to  the  people  of  Home.  He 
brought  them  together,  for  the  first  time  in  eighty 
years  of  the  annals  of  Home,  for  social  prayer  and 
praise.  Henceforth  the  social  prayer  meeting 
was  never  lost.     Two  or  three  met  together,  and 


104  HOME. 

the  Lord  was  there.     He  placed   in  their  hands 
those  volumes  of  great  and  clear  thought,  Emmons' 
Sermons.     He  preached  the  gospel  from  house  to 
house,  wherever  he  could  gain  access.     Few  of 
the  rich  welcomed  him  ;  many  cursed  him.     His 
preaching,  in  keeping  with  his  model,  was  full  of 
instruction.     A  Christian  formed  under  its  influ- 
ence must  needs  be  a  thinking  one.     It  was  very 
discriminating  in  respect  to  the  nature  and  proofs 
of  holiness  in  the  heart   and   life.     It  tried  the 
spirit  most  thoroughly.      None   could  easily  be 
familiar  with  such  books  and  such  sermons,  and 
mistake  his  own  true  character.     The  growth  of 
piety  in  the  hearts  of  those  who  w'ere  spiritual  be- 
fore, was  marked.     They  became  active.     They 
began  to  reprove  sin,  to  rebuke  error,  to  warn 
them  to  repentance.     The  Lord  added  a  few  to 
their  number,  including  one  or  two  of  the  most 
respected  and  intelligent  women  in  Home.    Great 
decision  of  character  marked  these  struggling 
disciples.     If  some,  at  times,  showed  a  want  of 
meekness,  it  was  true  that  their  trials  were  severe. 
But  in  general,  their  meekness  was  great.     And 
every  one  had  occasion  to  say,  "  behold  how  these 
love  one  another."    They  lived,  in  most  instances, 
at  a  distance  from  each  other.     There  was  very 
little  to  bring  them  together,  save  the  love  of 
Christ.      And  when  they  met,  it  was  like  the 


HOME.  105 

meeting  of  tenderly  attached  friends.  Their 
faces  shone.  For  hours  I  have  seen  two  or  three 
stand,  exposed  to  the  sun's  hot  rays,  or  the  win- 
ter's cold,  talking  of  their  hopes,  joys,  sorrows  ; 
of  their  Christ,  the  fountain  of  their  life.  Neigh- 
bors would  pass  by,  and  speak  to  them  ;  hours 
would  elapse,  but  wholly  absorbed  in  their  great 
theme,  they  knew  it  not.  It  was  the  exhibition  of 
new  and  strange  feelings.  For  the  first  time  in 
almost  a  century,  the  power  of  brotherly  love  was 
set  before  the  minds  of  the  people  of  Home. 
They  were  mocked,  insulted,  derided,  sneered  at, 
laughed  at,  but  still,  more  and  more  respected, 
every  day.  People  wondered  what  they  found  in 
religion  to  talk  so  much  about !  Some  were  ac- 
cused of  neglecting  their  social  duties,  to  wander 
away  to  distant  meetings,  or  to  talk  and  pray; 
but  the  accuser  knew  better.  Some  ^ew  were 
persons  of  great  intelligence  and  high  standing. 
It  was  a  great  mystery  to  many,  how  such  per- 
sons could  take  the  delight  they  did  in  visiting 
some  of  the  most  obscure  and  illiterate  persons  in 
town.  "  It  was  very  strange,"  it  was  said,  '*  that 
religion  need  lead  people  into  loiv  company !" 
As  if  such  a  term  could  apply  to  those  in  whom 
the  Saviour  had  taken  up  his  abode  !  True,  they 
were  ignorant  of  literature.  Their  language  was 
not  always  elegant  or  correct.     Their  logic  was 


106 


worse ;  but  they  loved  Christ,  and  that  changed 
their  whole  nature.  That  refined  their  manners. 
The  Bible,  always  in  their  hands,  and  loved,  gave 
dignity  to  their  language  and  topics  for  conversa- 
tion. The  Lord,  who  is  "  the  wisdom  of  God," 
taught  them  truths  more  important  than  any 
known  to  those  who  despised  them.  The  con- 
stant familiarity  with  great  truths  educated  their 
minds.  How  often  have  I  noticed  a  feeble  intel- 
lect made  vigorous  by  this  new,  living  power  ! 

Strange  that  sin  should  so  blind  men  that  they 
should  ever  dream  that  hearty  love  for  the  Holy 
Author  of  man's  intellect,  could  do  otherwise  than 
ennoble  the  mind  !  Look  at  the  world's  history. 
Just  where  the  faith  of  Christ  has  the  most  power, 
there  the  masses  of  mind  are  best  educated.  No 
material  progress  or  improvements  in  education 
come  from  those  who  are  not  humble  Christians. 
The  greatest  discovery  in  modern  times  was  made 
on  Plymouth  Rock,  by  Carver,  Alden  and  Brad- 
ford. It  is  the  Free  School,  open  to  every  child, 
rich  and  poor,  without  pay,  and  sustained  by  the 
property  of  the  community.  That  gave  power 
to  the  press.  That  is  now  renovating  the  world. 
That  is  destroying  superstition.  That  converts 
the  despotisms  of  the  continent  into  wise,  patriot- 
ic  governments.      A  people  educated  in  Free 


HOME.  107 

Schools  cannot  be  oppressed.  Give  the  Ameri- 
can slaves  a  year's  schooling,  and  no  earthly 
power  could  rivet  their  fetters  another  hour. 
The  masses  of  mankind  will  own  their  social  re- 
demption to  the  little  band  of  Plymouth  Rock. 

As  with  masses  of  men,  so  with  smaller  bodies 
and  individaal  minds.  A  religious  community 
read  more,  think  more,  converse  more  on  literary 
topics,  write  more  for  the  press  than  one  where 
the  power  of  the  gospel  is  lost,  either  by  the  prev- 
alence of  errors  in  theory,  or  corrupt  morals. 
For  example,  in  a  little  town  in  Massachusetts, 
inhabited  wholly  by  shoe-makers,  and  embracing 
less  than  2000  inhabitants,  there  are  more  Litera- 
ry Periodicals  taken,  than  in  the  Capital  of 
Virginia.  This  is  an  indication  of  an  almost 
universal  truth — Piety  and  knowledge,  in  the 
masses,  are  ever  united.  Corrupt  religion,  and 
you  dethrone  the  power  that  gives  energy  to  the  in- 
tellect. That  power  is  holy  love,  the  great 
source  of  activity  in  all  the  Universe  of  God. 

In  the  revival  of  a  purer  faith  in  Home,  there 
has  been  a  marked  increase  of  attention  to  edu- 
cation, more  thought,  more  reading  of  periodicals 
and  books,  more  production  of  literature.  In  a 
word,  all  the  evidences  of  a  better  educated  town. 
The  gospel  makes  the  simple  wise,  as  well  as 
saves  the  guilty  from  death. 


108 


HOME. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE  BELLE   OF  HOME. 

I.  Lifts  dawn. 
Was  she  beautiful  ?  Even  now  her  faded  face 
has  lines  of  beauty.  She  was  rather  above  the 
medium  stature.  Her  form,  constrained  by  no  cor- 
sage, was  perfect  in  outline.  Dressed  in  a  taste 
partly  her  own,  and  partly  conformed  to  the  mode, 
her  beauty  was  rather  shaded,  not  injured  by  it. 
Her  skin  was  pure  as  the  Parian  marble.  Eve- 
ry motion  was  graceful,  easy.  Her  dancing  was 
like  that  of  the  fairies.  Her  features  w^ere  well 
formed ;  but  the  broad  forehead,  and  clear  hazel 
eye,  full  of  intelligence,  gave  an  expression  of  dig- 
nity rather  than  gentleness  to  her  face.  Yet  the 
gentlest  of  human  beings  was  she.  She  would 
not  tread  on  the  worm  or  the  ant.  Had  they  not 
life,  and  a  right  to  their  share  of  enjoyment  ?  Of 
all  our  youth,  none  excelled  her  in  the  vigor  of 
her  strong  intellect,  and  sound  judgment ;  none 
were  better  versed  in  literature.  She  was  rather 
proud  ;  proud  of  an  old,  honored  name ;  proud  of 


HOME.  109 

Station,  wealth,  intellect,  education,  beauty,  and 
the  applause  all  these  gave  her.  Is  it  strange  ? 
Yet  who  more  truly  modest?  Who  less  assum- 
ing ?  Who  more  gentle  to  inferiors?  Per- 
haps the  very  consciousness  of  her  own  elevated 
position  saved  her  from  harshness  to  them ;  it 
does  so  affect  proud  persons.  But  who  had 
a  warmer  heart?  Nay,  who  united  such  self- 
control  with  a  more  intensely  passionate  nature? 
She  was  not  vain  ;  pride  prevented  that.  Enemies 
she  could  not  have  ;  she  was  not  vied,  for  she 
treated  none  unkindly.  She  loved  gaiety ;  and 
the  circles  to  which  she  had  access  were  gay. 
They  were  the  wealthy,  educated,  but  nnt  pious 
circles  of  Home  and  of  our  cities.  She  had  read 
her  Bible;  nor  were  religious  authors  forgotten. 
But  there  was  no  example  of  piety  in  her  father's 
house;  no  early  education  of  the  mind  and  affec- 
tions under  the  influence  of  the  gospel.  She  was 
^'  without  God,"  tliough  not  without  high  hopes  of 
present  and  future  joys.  She  was  kind  to  the 
poor,  when  it  came  in  her  way ;  but  what  could 
she  know  of  poverty?  What  should  call  the 
courted  and  petted  daughter  of  luxury  to  the 
abodes  of  want  and  sin  ? 

She  loved,  and  was  loved  in  return.     He  was 
one  whom  she  bad  knowo  from  childhood    Id  iu- 
10 


110  HOME. 

tellectual  strength  he  was  her  fit  companion.  In 
learning,  his  University  sent  forth  few  equals,  of 
his  years.  His  manly  person  and  manly  character 
were  all  that  woman  could  ask  in  the  object  of  her 
passionate  love.  And  her  love  was  passionate  ; 
all  the  strength  of  her  nature  was  poured  into  this 
tide  of  love.  Was  he  not  worthy  to  be  her  heart's 
idol?  His  very  calling  seemed  to  sanctify  such 
an  idolatrous  love.  He  was  about  to  become  the 
pastor  of  a  refined,  intelligent  and  rich  church, 
in  a  county  seat.  That  he  was  a  truly  converted 
man,  nobody  in  their  circle  supposed.  Neither 
they,  nor  the  church,  nor  he  deemed  it  important. 
He  was  amiable,  gifted,  serious  ;  he  had  made  it 
his  pj'uftssion.  True,  there  had  been  whispers  of 
excesses  over  the  cup,  in  college.  But  that,  of 
course,  a  clergyman  would  avoid.  Besides,  in 
those  days  every  gentleman,  as  a  part  of  the  dig- 
nity of  his  character,  must  have  a  dozen  kinds  of 
liquors  on  his  sideboard.  There  was  no  danger.. 
Still,  for  some  family  reason  their  union  was  not 
to  take  place  for  two  or  three  years.  What  mat- 
ter ?  Should  they  not  meet,  write,  and  ever  love  ? 
Besides,  she  was  not  quite  conscious  of  fitness  for 
the  duties  of  a  parson's  wife ;  and  she  was  young ; 
only  nineteen.  If  life  continued,  what  promise  of 
the  future  could  be  fairer  ?  Earth's  blessings  and 
joys  were  sure,  and  heaven's  were  not  so  vert/ 


HOME.  Ill 

hard  to  obtain.     What  evil  had  she  ever  done? 
So  dawned  life  on  Ellen  C . 

II.  The  day. 

"  Did  you  ever  hear  of  such  a  thing?  why  El- 
len C.  is  a  going  to  have  a  Sunday  school,  to  teach 
all  the  children  in  the  town  to  be  Christians  !  She 
must  be  crazy."  "  Where  did  she  get  such  foolish 
whims?  Such  things  were  never  heard  of  in 
Home  before.  True,  in  old  times,  I  have  heard 
my  father  say,  they  used  to  teach  children  the 
catechism.  But  that  has  long  been  laid  aside, 
and  with  good  reason.  Nobody  now  believes  that 
children  need  any  religion  to  fit  them  for  heaven." 

"  Very  true,  deacon ;  it  is  of  no  use  to  try  to 
make  Christians  of  children.  They  are  all  inno- 
cent, till  they  grow  up.  And  it  is  time  enough 
then  to  attend  to  religion." 

"I  agree  with  you,  'Squire.  Ellen  must  be 
crazy.     Where  did  she  get  the  idea  ?" 

"  My  wife  was  there  yesterday,  and  says  she 
has  just  returned  from  Portland.  She  says  Ellen 
insulted  her." 

"  Insulted  your  wife  !     A  lady  like  Ellen  !" 

"  It  amounted  to  that,  deacon.  My  wife  was 
there,  on  a  social  visit.  Ellen  would  scarcely 
talk  of  anything  but  religion,  all   the  afternoon. 


112 


It  was  nothing  but  '  faith,'  and  '  Christ,'  and  the 
*  new  birth.'  At  last  she  got  my  wife  into  her 
chamber  and  began  to  warn  her  to  repent,  and 
even  wept.  Finally  she  offered  to  pray  with 
her,  and  prayed  for  her  just  as  if  she  was  a 
heathen.  Ifthatisnot  an  insult,  what  is?  My 
wife,  you  know,  was  a  member  of  our  church  be- 
fore Ellen  was  born,  and  is  as  good  a  Christian 
as  any  woman  in  Home.  And  then,  to  crown  all, 
she  began  to  beg  her  to  pray  with  our  children, 
every  day,  that  they  might  become  Christians. 
That,  I  suppose,  is  what  this  Sunday  school 
means." 

"  It  is  wonderful !  I  agree  with  you,  she  must 
be  crazy.  I  thought  such  things  had  ceased 
among  educated  and  enlightened  men." 

The  magistrate  was  an  old  member  of  our 
church.  And  truly,  the  town  was  in  an  uproar, 
for  such  a  quiet  one.  There  were  then  not  more 
than  ten  or  twelve  Sabbath  schools  in  our  land. 
In  Home,  religious  education  for  the  young  had 
long  been  voted  needless,  by  the  most  respectable 
people  in  town.  Out  of  the  little  circle  of  the 
pious  it  was  wholly  uncared  for.  Parents,  in- 
deed, taught  their  children  to  avoid  gross  sins, 
like  lying,  oaths,  and  theft,  and  to  be  kind  and 
obedient.  But  nobody  thought  of  making  them 
religious.     What  need  of  it  ? 


I 


HOME.  113 

Ellen  was  changed.  The  lover  of  worldly  plea- 
sure she  had  ceased  to  be.  The  Bible  was  her 
companion.  Her  closet  was  heaven  revealed  on 
earth.  She  loved  social  life,  as  much  as  ever ; 
but  her  whole  aim  seemed  to  be  to  lead  her  friends 
to  Christ,  a  Saviour  of  whose  character  and  offi 
ces  both  they  and  she  had  been  profoundly  igno- 
rant, a  year  before.  It  was  no  reformation  in  mo- 
rals, but  a  change  in  the  heart,  that  formed  the 
theme  of  her  discourse.  The  soul,  laden  with 
forgotten  sin,  and  hastening  to  the  bar  of  God, 
was  the  object  of  her  prayers,  her  solicitude  her 
love.  Literature  and  the  elegances  of  life  were 
not  forgotten  ;  but  the  welfare  of  the  soul  was 
first  in  her  daily  thoughts.  The  'Squire  did  not 
understand  such  feelings  ;  the  deacon  did  not ; 
the  parson  did  not.  This  love  for  the  souls  of 
men  was  a  novelty  in  their  circle.  True,  the  few 
pious  people  in  town  talked  so.  But  they  were 
all  persons  advanced  in  life.  "  To  see  one,"  as 
the  minister's  wife  said,  "  so  young,  so  intelligent 
and  lovely,  at  the  age  when  she  ought  to  enjoy 
life,  adopting  such  views,  was  a  pity  !" 

What  had  changed  gay  Ellen,  to  praying  El- 
len?    She  had  passed  the  summer  in  a  distant 
State,  on  a  visit.    There  she  listened  to  the  preach- 
ing of  Payson.     Won  by  his  eloquence  to  attend 
10* 


114  HOME. 

to  the  truths  he  uttered,  the  Holy  Spirit  taught 
her  that  she  was,  what  she  had  hardly  ever  thought 
of  before,  a  sinner  ready  to  perish  without  a  Sa- 
viour. That  Saviour  was  soon  manifested  in  his 
glory,  and  received  as  the  object  of  love  and  wor- 
ship. Her  strong  mind  soon  perceived  the  har- 
mony of  the  whole  circle  of  divine  truths,  and  she 
cordially  embraced  them.  In  his  church  she  first 
saw,  and  at  once  appreciated  the  immense  value 
of  a  Sabbath  school,  then  a  novelty  in  the  land. 
She  learned  the  value  of  social  prayer.  As  she 
thought  of  Home,  the  view  of  the  objects  and  du- 
ties of  life  at  once  changed.  She  knew  there 
were  a  few  Christians,  who  felt  as  she  now  did. 
But  only  one  of  them  moved  in  her  own  circle, 
and  she  was  in  the  decline  of  life.  Ellen  had 
never  talked  with  her.  But  it  seemed  so  east/  to 
convince  enlightened  people,  like  those  of  Home, 
of  the  value  of  her  new  hopes  and  plans,  that  she 
could  not  expect  to  be  opposed.  And  there  was 
one  drop  of  sweetness  in  her  cup.  Would  she 
not  now  be  a  fitter  companion,  a  better  pastor's 
wife  for  her  betrothed  ?  Then  came  the  alarming 
question,  whether  he,  the  chosen,  worshipped  one, 
shared  in  such  feelings?  He  had  never  spoken 
of  them.  B\it  love  had  been  their  theme;  and 
that  was  the  reason.     At  any  rate,  she  would 


HOME.  115 

know  very  scon.  She  could  not  write  to  him,  on 
such  a  subject.  No,  the  first  hours  of  their  joy- 
ful meeting  should  be  devoted  to  the  topic.  Sure- 
ly he  must  love  the  Saviour,  whose  love  it  was  his 
business  to  preach. 

Autumn  drew  near.  Ellen  returned  to  Home, 
and  began  at  once,  in  the  fulness  of  her  soul,  to 
tell  of  her  Saviour.  She  could  not  now  be  blind 
to  the  spiritual  state  of  her  friends.  All  loved 
her,  and  few,  therefore,  to  her  face,  treated  her 
efforts  with  any  want  of  respect.  The  parson,  and 
a  few  others,  affected  to  regard  it  as  a  mere  change 
in  the  intellectual  views  of  religion,  induced  by 
an  eloquent  and  gifted  preacher.  Some  would 
try  to  reason  her  out  of  these  "strange  ways,"  as 
they  called  them.  Some  opposed  her  with  earn- 
estness, with  bitter  feelings.  A  few  scoffed.  But 
her  arguments  and  her  meekness  soon  quelled 
that.  A  small  number  listened  with  deep  inte- 
rest, and  received  instruction  and  profit.  The 
old  disciples  rejoiced  and  thanked  God  that  one 
so  beloved  and  fitted  for  wide  usefulness  was  add- 
ed to  their  number.  In  a  few  months  she  an- 
nounced her  plan  of  a  Sabbath  school  for  chil3reii. 
If  her  conversation  had  excited  emotion,  and,  with 
the  worldly,  suspicions  of  her  sanity,  this  confirm- 
ed them.     The  great  idea  of  training  the  young 


116  HOME. 

for  Christ,  was  practically  lost  in  Home.  Such 
a  thing  as  a  pious  child  was  unknown.  Children 
and  young  people,  every  body  said,  went  to  hea- 
ven as  a  matter  of  course.  What  need  of  any 
change  in  them  ?  What  need  of  a  religious  school 
for  them  ?  Could  they  not  learn  to  read  the  Bi- 
ble at  home?  Religion  was  for  the  mature  mind, 
not  for  infancy! — *'  Out  of  the  mouths  of  babes 
and  sucklings.  Thou  hast  perfected  praise."  Our 
Saviour's  words  had  no  example  in  Home  to  il- 
lustrate its  meaning,  for  ages.  Its  meaning  was 
unknown,  as  far  as  it  referred  to  this  world. 

We  little  ones  wondered,  as  well  as  our  elders, 
what  this  same  Sabbath  school  might  mean.  But 
we  all  knew  Miss  Ellen  ;  and  an  eager  crowd  gath- 
ered in  the  school-house  on  a  bright  sunny  Sab- 
bath, after  the  close  of  the  public  services  of  the 
sanctuary.  There  were  not  five  of  us  all  who  had 
ever  heard  any  one  pray,  but  the  ministers  in  the 
pulpit.  Only  two  in  the  vicinage  maintained  fam- 
ily worship.  Not  a  few  parents,  too,  had  come 
with  their  children  to  see  the  strange  thing.  And 
when  Miss  Ellen,  with  her  gentle  voice  trembling 
with  emotion,  began  to  speak  to  us  of  prayer,  a 
gaze  of  eager  curiosity  was  fixed  on  her.  She 
knelt  before  us,  none  following  her  example,  and 
began,  in  melting  accents,  to  invoke  the  presence 


HOME.  117 

of  the  Holy  Spirit.  It  was  strange,  crazy,  in- 
deed,— so  ran  popular  feeling — for  a  woman  to 
pray  so  publicly.  Who  ever  heard  of  such  a 
thing?  But  there  were  some  who  rejoiced  at  it. 
It  was  truly  a  Primitive  Sunday  School !  No 
Sabbath  School  Libraries  were  then  in  being.  No 
Societies  to  create  them  existed.  Juvenile  litera- 
ture was  very  limited.  There  was  none  of  it  in 
all  Home  of  more  value  than  "  Goody  Two  Shoes," 
and  similar  stories.  No  "Question  Books"  nor 
Bible  Dictionaries  existed  for  Sunday  schools. 
So  Miss  Ellen  taught  us  to  recite  Watts'  hymns, 
and  whole  chapters  of  the  Bible.  They  who  re- 
cited most  and  best,  received  rewards,  such  as  the 
teacher  of  the  week  day-school  gave  us.  Those 
who  learned  the  most  during  the  season,  were  to 
have  a  New  Testament.  Then  she  sung  with  us, 
and  sometimes  explained  the  Scriptures  we  recit- 
ed, or  exhorted  us  to  love  the  Saviour.  It  was 
"  harmless,"  people  said,  though  they  *'  could  see 
no  good  to  come  of  it."  Good  ?  There  was  in 
it  all  the  elements  of  the  regeneration  of  the  town  ! 
It  revived  in  men's  minds  the  idea  that  the  young 
needed  a  Saviour.  It  was  a  lesson  on  the  need  of 
anew  heart,  that  impressed  the  most  tlioughtless. 
True,  the  means  were  not  so  adapted  to  awaken 
thought  and  lead  the  heart  of  a  child  to  Christ, 


118  HOME. 

as  those  our  Sabbath  school  children  now  enjoy. 
But  the  lesson  was  nev^er  lost  in  Home,  on  the 
community,  or  on  those  children.  Of  all  that 
youthful  group,  hardly  one  now  lives  a  prayerless 
life  !  Widely  scattered  over  the  world,  almost 
every  living  one  is  a  living  Christian.  Some  have 
already  entered  the  Permanent  Life  before  us, 
leaving  behind  them  the  evidences  of  their  genu- 
ine faith  and  holy  love.  True,  other  agencies 
have  led  them  to  Christ ;  but  here  the  seeds  of  life 
were  sown.  The  only  immediate  result  of  the 
school,  was  the  recalling  to  men's  minds  the  prin- 
ciples before  adverted  to.  But  that  was  a  great 
stride  towards  a  revival  of  a  pure  faith.  It  did  not 
fail  to  call  forth  opposition.  And,  before  the 
summer  closed,  it  was  an  understood  thing  that 
"  Miss  Ellen  C.  was  crazy."  Poor  Ellen !  the 
storm  was  indeed  near  ! 

III.  The  cloud. 
"  Ellen  C.  has  run  off!  Get  up  quick!  All 
the  neighbors  are  out  in  search  of  her.  She  took 
no  clothes  that  they  can  find,  and,  if  she  is  not 
found  before  night,  she  will  perish  in  the  cold." 
Such  was  the  startling  cry  that  roused  us,  before 
daylight,  one  of  the  coldest  March  mornings  I  ever 
knew.   The  snow  still  covered  the  ground.     The 


HOME.  119 

night  had  been  cold  and  frosty.  Clouds  hung 
over  the  eastern  sky,  and  everything  boded  a  cold 
storm  of  sleet  and  rain,  if  not  a  fall  of  snow.  A 
few  hours  of  such  weather  must  destroy  the  life 
of  a  delicate  woman,  W'ithout  much  clothing,  and 
who  had  no  reason  to  guide  her  feeble  steps.  The 
day  was  one  of  intense  anxiety.  More  than  a 
hundred  men  searched  the  barns,  fields  and  woods 
for  miles  around.  No  trace  of  her  was  to  be 
found.  It  began  to  be  suspected  that  suicide  had 
closed  her  career. 

Ellen  was  indeed  insane.  What  had  broken 
down  that  glorious  intellect  ? 

Little  did  she  think  what  keen  reproaches,  what 
taunts,  what  scorn,  what  alienations  of  friends, 
and  malice  of  foes,  would  follow  her  efforts  to  win 
the  young  and  old  to  Christ.  But,  hard  as  the 
struggle  was,  all  this  could  be  borne,  for  Christ 
was  honored.  He  had  suffered,  and  his  followers 
must. 

But  there  were  pangs  in  store  for  her,  she  had 
never  looked  for.  He,  the  loved  one,  the  idolized, 
treated  her  new  hopes  and  joys  as  enthusiastic 
folly,  or  worse  !  And,  worse  than  all,  it  began 
to  be  whispered  that  the  wine  cup  was  so  often  in 
his  hands,  that  honor  and  reputation  would  soon 
be  lost,  if  it  was  not  already.     The  heart's  wor- 


120  HOME. 

shipped  one,  proved  unworthy !  Love  leaned  on 
a  broken  reed  that  pierced  its  heart.  The  shock 
was  too  great  for  such  a  passionate  nature.  Had 
that  nature,  from  infancy,  been  subjected  to  the 
control  of  the  gospel,  it  might  have  withstood  it; 
but  now,  after  days  and  nights  of  sleepless  anguish, 
the  glorious  intellect  gave  way.  Reason  was  un- 
strung, and  Ellen  became  a  maniac  !  The  re- 
sources of  the  healing  art  were  employed  in  vain; 
reason  would  not  come  back  at  their  bidding. 
Who  did  not  mourn  that  so  dark  a  cloud  had  pas- 
sed over  her  life?  Some  of  the  enemies  of  her 
holy  faith  said,  that  *'  it  was  just  what  they 
had  expected  from  her  new  notions  of  religion." 
But  there  were  candid  men  who  saw  further,  or 
knew  better.  And  now  she  had  left  her  dwelling 
in  the  night  time. 

Hundreds  of  willing  hearts  had  gathered,  be- 
fore dawn,  from  a  wide  region  of  country,  with 
lanterns  and  rakes.  The  river  margin  was  mi- 
nutely examined,  and  no  trace  of  her  discovered. 
Parts  of  it  Were  dragged.  The  ponds  were  still 
closed  with  ice,  save  one;  but  no  discovery  was 
made  there. 

Dividing  into  groups,  as  day  broke,  they  deter- 
mined to  leave  no  square  rod  of  ground  un- 
explored.    Happily  the  weather  was  somewhat 


HOME.  121 

warmer,  though  it  was  almost  freezing.  Few 
looked  to  see  Ellen  alive.  The  woods,  fields, 
fences,  barns,  houses,  swamps,  all  were  explored 
again  and  again.  About  noon,  one  thought  he 
saw  something  white  moving  in  a  clump  of  bushes 
he  had  just  passed.  Turning  again,  poor  Ellen 
was  found,  in  her  night  dress,  almost  exhausted. 
She  had  wandered  about  for  hours,  and  at  last 
laid  down  in  the  shallow  water  in  which  the 
bushes  grew,  and  tried,  she  said,  to  drink  herself 
to  death,  when  she  found  them  too  shallow  to  drown 
hen  She  was  tenderly  conveyed  to  her  home 
again.  Little  evil  resulted  from  the  exposure, 
but  no  good.  To  this  day  she  is  the  same.  Her 
mania  is  generally  of  a  quiet,  harmless  sort. 
Sometimes  she  is  some  great  one  :  a  king,  a  migh- 
ty conqueror.  Her  favorite  fancy  is,  that  she  is 
Christ.  With  looks  of  dignity  and  kindness  she 
will  demand  the  homage  due  to  her  as  the  Saviour. 
Often  she  will  suffer  herself  to  be  reasoned  out  of 
her  fancies;  and  then  her  conversation  is  both 
spiritual  and  instructive.  In  the  common  affairs 
of  life  it  is  not  seen,  save  in  the  indifference  to 
them  all.  Like  many  other  insane  persons,  no 
one  ever  heard  Ellen  allude  to  her  early  sorrows. 
Even  now,  Christians  love  to  visit  her.  Holy 
love  to  her  Saviour  and  to  all  who  bear  his  image, 

n 


122 


HOME  . 


SO  fills  her  heart,  that  none  can  doubt  the  reality 
of  her  religious  affections.  Insane,  the  intellect 
may  be;  but  conscience  will  not  suffer  men  to 
say  that  such  holy  affections  are  insane.  They 
know  they  are  right  and  rational.  The  power  of 
the  uncontrolled  human  affections  may  unseat 
reason  ;  but  none  can  doubt  that  the  love  of  God 
rules  in  the  heart.  Education  for  the  intellect 
only,  does  not  diminish  the  amount  of  crime  or 
insanity.  There's  not  an  affection  of  our  nature 
but  requires  more  care  and  nurture,  often  more 
restraint,  than  any  power  of  the  intellect.  Reli- 
gious influence  in  early  youth,  is  the  only  pow- 
er that  can  so  educate  the  heart.  When  Sabbath 
schools  and  parental  fidelity  have  fully  done  their 
office,  we  shall  need  no  insane  hospitals,  no  pri- 
sons. "  The  child  shall  be  a  hundred  years  old," 
because  its  tender  spirit  shall  be  taught  by  the 
Holy  Spirit,  and  formed  into  the  divine  model  of 
holy  purity,  intelligence  and  love. 


HOME. 


123 


CHAPTER  IX. 

The  mission  sermons — Givers  not  losers — Weakness  made 
strong ;  folly,  wise — The  dream — The  poor  widow— The 
learned  taught  humility — The  sailor  preacher — The 
heart,  the  best  controversialist — ^New  sects  arise  when 
needed — The  sons  of  Home,  abroad — The  natural  heart 
shown. 

Perhaps,  on  earth,  the  bright  intellect  of  Ellen 
C.  will  never  awaken  to  a  distinct  perception  of 
the  results  of  her  labors  and  prayers.  But  in  the 
Spirit  land,  where  the  mind  sees  all  effects  and 
knows  all  the  causes  of  human  action,  will  not 
her  soul  rejoice  1 

Sabbath  schools  were  not  again  resumed  in 
Home  for  many  years;  but  the  power  of  that 
humble  effort  was  never  forgotten. 

In  pursuing  the  detail  of  causes  of  revived  faith, 
I  shall  dwell  most  on  those  which  relate  to  prin- 
ciples of  action,  not  the  mere  detail  of  events. 

The  work  of  missions  to  the  heathen,  that  thrice 
blessed  labor  of  holy  zeal,  commenced  before  the 
separation  between  the  friends  and  foes  of  the  Pil- 
grim faith  was  complete.  In  all  classes,  many  op- 
posed the  plan,  at  first.     But  many  others  were 


124  HOME. 

interested,  for  a  time,  even  from  the  novelty  of  the 
thing.  Missions  to  the  heathen  !  Since  May- 
hew's  time  the  churches  had  not  heard  of  such  a 
thing.  Neither,  in  the  Protestant  world,  had  the 
idea  been  acted  on,  by  system,  in  any  country,  till 
a  recent  date.  One  of  the  first  missionaries  sent 
forth  by  our  churches,  visited  Home,  and  laid  be- 
fore the  people  the  objects  of  his  mission.  Some 
knew  it  was  an  "  orthodox"  movement,  and  that 
it  called  for  their  money.  A  covetous  rich  man 
declared  he  would  give  nothing.  A  rich  church- 
member  left  her  money  at  home,  for  she  "  would 
not  encourage  beggars."  The  plain,  faithful 
preaching,  and  the  picture  of  the  state  of  the 
heathen  world  lying  in  wickedness  affected  many 
hearts  unused  to  such  emotions.  The  covetous 
man  gave  liberally,  and  the  lady  borrowed,  that 
she  might  do  so  likewise.  It  was  the  first  time, 
for  ages,  that  the  churches  at  Home  had  been 
called  on,  as  Christians,  to  act  out  the  spirit  of 
benevolence  to  the  guilty  !  There  was  not  much 
piety  left.  The  appeal  was  novel;  the  topics 
new ;  the  sympathies  awakened,  more  than  the 
conscience.  But  the  result  was  creditable  to  their 
liberality.  It  tended  to  establish  again  in  the 
minds  of  men,  the  idea  of  duty  towards  sinful  men. 
The  giver  is  doubly  blessed.  His  sympathies  will 
follow  his  gifts.    This  enlarges  his  aflfections,  and 


HOME 


125 


his  mind  also.  It  tends  to  prepare  his  mind  for 
divine  influences  for  his  own  salvation.  So  that 
the  maxim,  "  there  is  that  giveth,  and  yet  increas- 
eth,"  is  based  on  a  law  of  our  nature.  It  is  part 
of  our  spirit — and  nature  too.  And  if  I  had  no 
other  object  in  training  my  children  to  liberal 
habits,  I  would  do  it  as  a  means  of  preparing 
them  to  receive  and  be  benefited  in  the  highest 
degree  by  the  grace  of  the  gospel.  And  I  have 
remarked,  that  of  those  who  were  most  deeply  in- 
terested, on  that  occasion,  quite  a  number  have 
since  become  God's  children.  It  is  not  that  di- 
vine grace  is  bestowed  as  a  reward  for  beneficent 
acts  but  because  such  acts  break  down  the  bul- 
warks of  our  selfish  nature,  and  prepare  the  soul, 
pursuant  to  its  own  laws,  to  receive  the  truth  in 
the  love  of  it.  There  is  no  doubly  fortified  wall 
of  selfish  habits  to  oppose  the  claims  of  a  gospel 
whose  essence  is  self-denying  love,  or  benevolence 
in  heart  and  life.  "  He  that  watereth  shall  also 
himself  be  watered,"  expresses  the  same  law  of 
our  nature.  So  has  God  written  on  man's  nature 
every  principle  of  his  law.  And  there  is  not  an 
element  in  our  nature  but  is  set  at  naught  by  a 
life  of  sin.  If  the  churches  can  be  induced  to 
give,  to  the  point  of  real  sacrifice,  a  manifest  in- 
crease of  holiness  and  blessing  will  therefore  follow, 
11* 


126  HOME. 

by  the  same  law.  On  the  other  hand,  "  there  is 
that  vvithholdeth  more  than  is  meet ;  but  it  tend- 
eth  to  poverty."  It  makes  God  frown,  because  it 
is  cherishing  selfish  feelings.  Selfish  feelings  con- 
tract and  impair  the  vigor  of  the  mental  powers, 
both  by  their  direct  influence,  and  by  removing 
the  highest  motives  and  incitements  to  mental  ac- 
tion ;  and  also  by  excluding  from  the  mind  the 
most  ennobling  thoughts  on  a  vast  variety  of  topics. 
These  alone  would  educate  and  invigorate  the  mind. 

An  eminent  living  statesman  is  accustomed  to 
prepare  himself  for  any  great  intellectual  effort  by 
the  reading  of  the  Psalms,  Prophets,  Epistles  and 
other  portions  of  the  Bible.  It  is  not  to  borrow 
thoughts ;  for  they  often  contain  nothing  germane 
to  his  intended  labor.  But  he  finds  it  gives  more 
vigor  to  his  mind,  more  clearness  and  justness  to 
his  views  than  all  other  modes  of  training.  Often 
have  I  found  the  effect  of  prayer — by  which  the 
intellect  was  brought  under  the  same  class  of 
spiritual  influences  that  flow  from  the  Bible — 
strengthen  the  memory,  guide  the  wavering  judg- 
ment aright,  and  add  force,  dignity  and  beauty  to 
efforts  from  which  I  have  before  drawn  back,  as 
tasks  beyond  the  reach  of  my  powers.  So  Luther 
reasoned,  in  his  maxim,  *'  To  have  prayed  well 
is  to  have  studied  well." 

By  the  same  law,  right  action  aids  in  the  in- 


HOME.  127 

vestigation  of  truth,  "  He  that  doeth  his  will, 
shall  know  of  the  doctrine,  whether  it  be  of  God." 
The  marked  and  beneficent  spiritual  changes  in 
sects  of  errorists  that  have  warmly  enlisted  in 
temperance,  anti-slavery,  moral  reform,  and  other 
labors  of  Christian  benevolence  is  noticed,  even 
by  themselves.  Their  bitterness  against  the  pure 
faith  and  those  who  love  it  ceases.  Acting  on 
its  principles,  they  gradually  assimilate  their 
belief  to  it.  They  often  think  the  change  is  in 
others;  but  it  is  in  their  own  hearts,  and  results 
from  the  operation  of  the  law  of  benevolence. 

"  Sell  all  that  thou  hast^  and  give  to  the  poor." 
What  meant  the  preceptj  and  its  promise,  "  and 
thou  shalt  have  treasure  in  heaven  ?"  The  same 
law  explains  it.  It  did  not  promise  heaven  as  a 
reward  for  an  act  of  self-denial ;  but  such  acts 
tend  most  powerfully  to  secure  the  possession  of 
right  affections  towards  God  and  man.  It  is  by 
the  same  law  that  beneficent  action  in  states  and 
communities  prepares  men's  hearts  for  a  general 
diffusion  of  spiritual  blessings.     But  to  return. 

The  influence  of  several  pious  school-teachers, 
from  abroad,  was  a  great  blessing  in  Home.  Their 
prayers,  their  lives  taught  the  young  to  respect 
piety.  Their  intelligence  reunited,  in  older 
minds,  the  association  between  piety  and  know- 


128  HOME. 

ledge.  Those  who  once  looked  on  spiritual  reli- 
gion as  a  weakness,  could  no  longer  do  so.  Ob- 
servation showed,  too,  that  the  intellectual  growth 
of  the  young  mind  under  such  teachers,  was  more 
rapid,  was  more  healthful.  So  strongly  is  this 
often  felt,  that  I  have  known  infidels  take  great 
pains  to  secure  pious  teachers  in  schools  placed 
under  their  control.  The  power  of  the  gospel 
is  hidden  from  their  own  hearts,  but  they  see  its 
beneficial  results,  and  desire  to  enjoy  them. 

Who  does  not  admire  the  condescension  of 
God  to  human  weakness  ;  his  pity  for  man's  folly 
and  guilt !  Men's  weaknesses,  errors  and  sins 
are  often  made  the  means  of  recalling  themselves 
or  others  to  the  path  of  life.  Such  instances 
have  not  been  wanting  in  Home. 

A  young  and  lovely  woman,  from  the  very  hum- 
blest class  of  society,  extremely  ignorant,  though 
not  without  good  powers  of  mind,  was  early  mar- 
ried, and  removed  to  a  distant  State.  There, 
under  the  influence  of  a  revival  in  the  Methodist 
body,  she  became  the  subject  of  Divine  grace. 
Widowed  and  childless,  she  returned  to  her  na- 
tive town.  She  brought  with  her  poverty,  so  far 
as  this  world's  goods  went,  but  a  rich  heart,  for 
God  and  his  Son  made  it  their  dwelling.  Who 
could  doubt  it,  who  saw  her  holy  living,  and  listen- 


HOME.  129 

ed  to  her  conversation  ?  There  was  only  one 
other  Christian  in  the  neighborhood,  a  lady  in 
much  higher  station  ;  but  they  became  almost  in- 
separable friends.  The  great  Lord  of  life  was  the 
chiefest  among  ten  thousands  to  each,  and  they 
saw  him  in  each  other.  It  was  a  dark  neighbor- 
hood ;  and  her  old  associates,  her  near  neighbors, 
all  with  whom  she  was  most  likely  to  come  in 
contact,  were  of  the  class  I  have  before  spoken 
of;  illiterate,  neglecters  of  the  Bible  and  of  pub- 
lic worship. 

Ardent  in  feeling,  she  convinced  them  all  of  her 
sincerity, — a  great  point  gained.  One  of  the  most 
useful  living  ministers,  one  who  lays  no  claim  to 
profound  scholarship  or  eminent  talents,  when  I 
asked  the  secret  of  his  usefulness,  especially  to  the 
educated,  a  class  for  whose  benefit  I  always  thought 
his  labors  poorly  adapted,  replied,  "  I  know  not, 
unless  it  is,  that  they  all  have  a  deep  conviction 
that  I  am  sincere,^'  or  hearty,  in  the  work.  It  is 
not  merely  to  be  in  earnest,  or  zealous,  or  elo- 
quent; but  to  make  men  feel  that  there  is  a  single- 
ness of  purpose  that  looks  alone  to  the  good  of 
their  souls.  That  is  the  sincerity  my  excellent  and 
lionored  friend  intended.  "  I  seek  not  yours,  but 
,  you,"  was  equally  the  lesson  of  the  widow's  life. 
I  Then,  she  was  not  very  refined ;  she  was  not 
\  above  them,  but  one  of  their  own  sort  of  folks. 


130  HOME. 

They  could  talk  to  her  freely  !  Nay,  they  could 
out-argue  her,  sometimes,  if  they  could  not  prove 
that  her  manifest  holiness  was  a  fancy  ;  that  they 
did  not  try  !  Then  the  widow  was  credulous,  in 
some  matters,  to  an  extreme.  Endowed  with  a 
fund  of  common  sense,  in  the  affairs  of  life,  she 
yet  was  full  of  dreams  and  visions  of  both  earthly 
and  heavenly  things. 

It  is  in  vain  to  reason  a  large  portion  of  even 
educated  persons  out  of  their  faith  in  dreams. 
Call  it  credulity,  or  what  you  will,  there  is  a  fas- 
cination about  these  visions  of  the  night  few  can 
wholly  resist.  So  it  is  with  "  signs,"  both  of  events 
in  the  natural  and  social  and  spiritual  worlds. 
No  strength  of  philosophical  intellect,  no  treasures 
of  learning,  no  sceptical  habits  of  mind,  no  want 
of  natural  reverence,  frees  the  mind  wholly  from 
this  influence.  And  many  will  think  that  the 
mind,  shut  out  from  the  fetters  of  sense,  has 
glimpses  of  the  future,  and  of  the  spirit  world 
which  are  not  accorded  to  our  waking  hours. 
It  may  all  be  delusion,  but  it  is  one  that  is  only 
refined,  not  banished,  by  increasing  knowledge. 
Among  the  illiterate  such  ideas  are  nearly  univer- 
sal. They  also  connect  them  with  religion  alsa 
And  the  representations  of  the  Scripture  that  such  I 
things  have  been,  leads  them  to  attach  a  value  to 
our  dreams  far  beyond  their  intrinsic  interest. 


HOME. 


131 


With  the  philosophy  of  dreams— with  all  philoso- 
phies of  dreaming! — I  have  long  been  familiar. 
They  have  little  real  philosophy  in  them  !     Why 
undertake  to  explain  the  action  of  mind  without  a 
body  1    (For  this  is  clearly  essential  to  any  full 
exposition  of  it).     Idle  as  most  dreams  are,  their 
influence  over  the  life  is  sometimes  very  great. 
*'  He  that  hath  a  dream,  let  him  tell  a  dream." 
In  my  childhood,  when   about  seven  years  old,  I 
dreamed  I  was  dead  and  in  hell  !     It  seemed  not 
unlike  the  scenery  of  our  world.    Its  devil,  not 
unlike  a  smiling  man !     He  offered  to  the  lost, 
beautiful  and  fragrant  fruits,  that  turned  to  bitter 
ashes  in  the  mouth ;  and  still  he  smiled  !     There 
seemed  no  restraint  on  men's  motions,  or  inter- 
course.    Their  sufferings   were  in  their  hearts. 
Full  of  anguish  at  being  shut  up  with  the  wicked, 
I  approached  the  low  wall  that  seemed  to  divide 
the  place  from  heaven  !     Child  as  I  was,  I  could 
see  over  it ;    but  had  no  power  to  climb  it.     It 
seemed  as  if  the  help  must  come  from  the  heaven- 
ly side.     I  looked  around  for  it.     Presently,  the 
forms  of  my  venerable  grand-parents  seemed  to 
pass  by,  mingled  with  throngs  of  happy  faces.     I 
i  called  for  help.     They  only  looked  at  me  mourn- 
fully, and  passed  on.     I  could  not  blame  or  envy 
them.     "  It  is  right,  it  isjust,'^  was  the  feeling 
|ij  irresistibly  impressed  on  my  mind.     For  the  first 


132  HOME. 

time  in  my  life,  I  knelt,  and  tried  to  pray,  not  to 
be  saved  from  hell ;  for  it  never  had,  in  all  my 
life,  any  terror  to  my  mind ;  but  to  be  reserved 
from  such  a  just  punishment.  The  habit  of 
secret  prayer  then  formed,  was  never  wholly  lost, 
through  long  years  of  youthful  folly  and  sin,  till  I 
united  with  Yale  College  church,  in  1831.  I 
attach  no  value  to  dreams.  For  years,  when  in 
health,  I  have  had  none.  I  listen  impatiently  to 
the  recital  of  them.  Still  the  most  permanent 
influence  that  has  acted  on  my  life,  perhaps,  was 
this  dream  of  early  childhood  ! 

I  wonder  not  at  their  power  over  minds  natu- 
rally credulous,  and  also  devout.  No  doubt  the 
widow's  visions  and  semi-prophecies,  which  al- 
ways boded  blessings,  tended  very  greatly  to 
secure  to  her  faith  its  proper  influence  over  a 
large  class  of  minds.  To  them,  it  was  the  poetry 
and  romance  of  religion.  They  who  are  insensi- 
ble to  such  influences,  and  laugh  at  them  when 
they  appear  in  the  grosser  forms  of  dreams  and 
trances,  should  never  read  Paradise  Lost,  or  the 
Faery  Q,ueen !  The  widow  had  strong  faith  in 
the  power  of  prayer.  She  was  sure  that  God 
would  answer  her.  Nay,  in  a  vision  He  had  i 
shown  her  that  He  was  soon  to  revive  his  work 
of  grace  in  Home.  Had  she  not  seen  in  a  dream, 
a  great  light  flaming  up,  in  the  direction  of  the 


HOME.  133 

dwelling  of  a  rich  family;  and  then  little  lights 
also,  at  intervals,  all  over  the  town  ?  People 
smiled  at  her  "  silly  fancies,"  but  they  had  a  good 
influence,  still  !  And  her  tender  appeals  to  the 
heart  were,  in  connection  with  her  holy  living, 
the  means  of  leading  several,  in  her  own  class,  to 
love  the  Saviour.  What  a  feast  it  was,  when  Jive 
women,  in  that  one  neighborhood,  could  meet  and 
talk  and  sing  and  pray  to  the  Saviour  they  loved  ! 
There  was  not  such  another  place  in  all  the  town. 
Some  set  it  all  down  as  the  dreams  of  silly  women  : 
but  others  sighed  and  wished  they  could  share  the 
same  joys  and  hopes,  if  it  was  only  in  their  dreams  ! 

In  another  circle,  equally  ignorant,  perhaps 
more  so,  in  a  distant  corner  of  the  town,  a  like 
influence  was  exerted  by  a  poor  depised  man,  who 
had  been  brought  to  Christ  by  the  preaching  of  a 
Baptist  pastor,  in  a  distant  place  where  he  sought 
work.  His  prayers,  and  those  of  a  ^ew  others 
gathered  around  him,  resulted  in  the  end,  in  the 
formation  of  a  Baptist  church. 

There  is  far  too  little  sympathy  between  the  ed- 
ucated and  the  ignorant.  When  men  learn  that 
God  endows  them  with  knowledge  only  that  they 
may  do  more  to  benefit  their  fellows,  they  will  not 
be  "puffed  up"  nor  disgust  their  less  favored  breth- 
ren by  their  pride  in  their  superior  intelligence. 
12 


134  H  O  xM  E  . 

Education  and  learning  have  little  moral  value  if 
they  do  not  teach  us  to  be  "  clothed  with  humility/' 
to  be  meek,  gentle,  patient,  especially  with  the 
poor  and  obscure,  the  ignorant  and  the  weak. 
The  pastors  of  Home  were  ever  men  of  learning ; 
but  they  had  alienated  the  poor  and  the  ignorant 
from  God's  house  by  their  neglect,  by  their  pride, 
by  their  want  of  sympathy.  The  poor,  no  longer 
had  the  gospel  preached  to  them,  to  any  great 
extent.  The  deep  rooted  prejudices  such  classes 
entertain  against  educated  ministers,  who  does 
not  know?  The  man  of  learning  can  overcome 
them,  if  he  will.  His  knowledge  was  given  him, 
in  trust,  for  their  good.  They  know  their  claims 
upon  it.  But  they  have  as  much  pride  as  the  man 
of  learning,  and  do  not  like  to  see  the  airs  of  the 
teacher  put  on  !  They  want  its  results,  and  will 
joyfully  receive  them  from  one  whose  meekness 
arrogates  no  superiority,  and  whose  justice  and 
true  benevolence  sees  in  every  man  a  brother,  and 
a  child  of  the  same  Father.  In  this  should  the 
man  of  education  learn  to  be  a  child ;  while  in 
understanding  he  is  a  7?ian. 

Too  many  of  those  who  preach  a  purer  faith, 
practically  despise  the  poor.  They  are  clannish  ; 
they  love  and  seek  educated  society.  They  for- 
get, insensibly,  the  claims  of  the  ignorant  and  the 
poor.    The  Literary  Soiree  is  a  source  of  high  en- 


n  o  M  E  .  135 

joyment ;  and  for  this  they  forego  the  far  richer 
pleasure  of  imparting  their  stores  to  those  who 
lack.  This  is  the  true  source  of  the  prejudices 
of  masses  of  men  against  education  in  the  pastor 
and  in  other  professional  men.  And,  in  refer- 
ence to  these  prejudices,  I  have  often  thought, 
that  the  popular  lectures  on  the  sciences  by  our 
literary  men  were,  in  fact,  a  most  effective  preach- 
ing of  the  gospel ! 

It  is  no  reproach,  now,  to  the  ministry  of  the 
Baptist  and  Methodist  bodies,  to  say,  that  a  large 
portion  of  their  predecessors  were  extremely  illit- 
erate, and  themselves  in  many  cases,  filled  with 
prejudices  against  learning  in  the  ministry.  But 
that  very  circumstance,  combined  with  their  en- 
couragement of ''  visions,"  "  trances,"  "  dreams," 
and  like  excesses,  with  their  warm  piety  and  love 
of  souls,  won  them  popular  favor  with  the  neglect- 
ed and  ignorant  classes.  When  one,  now  among 
the  most  eloquent  men  of  our  time,  began  his 
career,  in  a  back  school-house  in  Home,  it  is  said 
he  could  not  read.  But  one  could  hear  him 
preach  for  a  mile  !  He  "  cried  aloud,"  indeed, 
and  "  spared  not"  his  lungs  or  men's  ears !  He 
was  visionary,  though  pious ;  ignorant,  though 
sincere  ;  *'  God  gave  him  all,"  he  said,  "  for  no 
man  had  ever  lar'nt  him,"  or  "torched  him!" 
It  was  very  true,  so  far  as  the  affections  of  his 


136  HOME. 

heart,  and  his  yearning,  longing  desire  to  save 
souls  were  concerned.  He  knew  httle,  but  he 
felt  much.  He  spoke,  like  a  thunder  clap,  when 
a  gentle  whisper  was  enough  ;  but  the  words  he 
uttered  in  loudest  tones  were,  *'  sin,"  "  death," 
"  judgment,"  "  Christ  and  the  cross."  His  own 
feelings  suited  well  the  prejudices  of  his  hearers. 
They  knew  as  much  or  more  than  he,  of  every 
thing  save  "  the  love  of  God  shed  abroad  in  their 
hearts  by  the  Holy  Ghost."  And  God  helped  him 
to  teach  some  of  them  that  divine  lesson.  Known, 
now,  all  over  our  own,  and  in  other  lands,  prais- 
ed in  the  Senate  house,  for  his  usefulness,  he  can 
still  throw  the  arm  of  a  brother  round  the  neck 
of  a  diseased  and  guilty  sailor,  and  ask  his  brother 
to  go  with  him  to  the  Saviour  for  healing  and 
pardon,  with  the  same  simple  zeal  he  showed  in 
Home,  long  years  ago.  Neither  his  voice  nor 
his  words  are  forgotten  there. 

The  pastors  of  Home,  while  they  gave  men  no 
ideas  of  the  real  nature  of  the  faith  of  our  fathers, 
succeeded  in  filling  them  with  prejudices  against 
the  words  employed  to  express  some  of  the  offen- 
sive doctrines  of  the  cross ;  doctrines  essential  to 
a  matured  and  intelligent  piety,  though  not,  with 
most  minds,  to  its  existence,  or  its  joys.  I  speak 
of  the  great  principles  of  the  divine  government 
over  men,  including  all  that  is'embraced  in  the  idea 


HOME.  137 

of  God's  sovereign  dominion.  The  humble,  cor- 
dial, entire,  unlimited  submission  of  all  our  hopes, 
fears,  joys  and  wishes  to  the  Divine  Will,  must  be 
in  some  form  secure.  It  is,  though  by  a  great 
diversity  of  means.  The  Methodist  body,  in  pro- 
portion to  the  intelligence  and  real  holiness  of  its 
members  see  it,  though  they  are  opposed  to  some 
of  those  Scriptural  doctrines  that,  in  the  higher 
class  of  reasoning  minds,  are  connected  with  such 
submission,  as  cause  with  effect.  But  their  very 
hostility  to  these  views  gave  them  favor  with  many 
men,  to  whom,  after  conciliating  their  prejudices 
on  these  and  other  points,  they  preached  the  glory 
of  the  atoning  Saviour,  as  a  deliverer  from  sin.  I 
have  no  doubt  they  have  won  many  thousands  to 
Christ,  thus.  And  when  the  Holy  Spirit  does  this 
blessed  work,  in  filling  the  heart  with  the  love  of 
God,  the  same  elements  of  faith,  submission,  hu- 
mility, meekness,  zeal,  brotherly  kindness  and 
charity,  will  in  the  end,  always  appear,  however 
diverse  and  imperfect  the  teachings  may  be  to  the 
intellect.  And  truly  spiritual  men  differ  far  less 
than  they  sometimes  think,  in  respect  to  all  the 
doctrines  that  enter  into  the  elements  of  a  Chris- 
tian rfe.  There  are  some  men,  many  minds,  by 
their  very  constitution,  limited  to  the  "  first  prin- 
ciples of  the  faith.  For  others,  in  order  to  attain 
12* 


138  HOME. 

perfection  and  ripeness  of  character,  other  doc- 
trines are  needed.  And  the  Bible  has  its  "  heights 
and  depths"  for  some,  as  well  as  •'its  glorious  but 
simple  truths  for  others.  But  it  has  often  delighted 
me  to  see  how  truths  intellectually  rejected,  enter- 
ed in  fact,  deeply  into  the  Christian  experience  of 
those  who  denied  them.  The  logical  statement  of 
the  idea  was  rejected,  but  the  grace  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  had  given  power  to  the  principle,  in  the  heart. 
It  early  taught  me  a  lesson  respecting  controversy 
with  real  Christians.  We  can  agree,  and  make 
prayers  towards  unity  in  the  faith,  just  so  long  as 
we  reason  to,  and  from  the  heart,  and  that  heart  is 
enriched  with  the  teachings  of  the  blessed  Spirit. 
Reverse  the  process,  and  every  step  commonly 
widens  our  differences,  and  produces  bitter  feel- 
ings among  those  who  should  love  as  brethren. 
Every  sect,  as  holiness  increases,  learn  to  place  a 
higher  value  on  an  educated  ministry.  But  if,  when 
they  have  obtained  it,  they  pervert  the  blessing, 
become  "  puffed  up,"  and  neglect  to  minister  to 
the  ignorant,  the  weak,  the  poor,  and  suffer  them 
to  be  alienated  from  their  hearts,  God  will  raise  up 
other  sects,  who  will  be  fitted  to  meet  even  the  pre- 
judices of  the  ignorant,  and  who  have  humility 
enough  to  "  condescend  to  men  of  low  estate." 
The  new  sect  may  differ  from  the  old,  in  some 
even  important  doctrine  of  the  Bible.  But  so  long 


HOME.  139 

as  they  hold  fast  the  cross  of  Christ,  God  will  use 
their  labors  to  raise  up  many  sons  and  daughters 
for  glory,  who  otherwise  might  have  perished  in 
sin.  He  "  will  have  all  men  come  unto  him." 
And  when  one  sect  neglect  any  part  of  His  vine- 
yard, He  shows  the  pity  and  tenderness  of  His 
Divine  heart  by  sending  others  who  shall  teach 
those  who  err,  and  guide  them  to  the  Lamb. 

I  said  that  for  a  generation,  the  young  and  en- 
terprising were  drawn  away  from  Home  to  other 
places. — God,  the  God  of  our  fathers  ordered  this, 
in  mercy  to  the  posterity  of  his  covenant  keeping 
children.  It  is  a  remarkable  fact,  that  of  all  the 
scores  who  thus  left  their  native  soil,  God,  in  a  few 
years,  brought  nearly  all  back  to  the  faith  of  their 
fathers,  both  in  intellect  and  in  heart.  True,  in 
some  instances,  this  was  easily  traced  to  the  power 
of  a  spiritual  religion  in  the  places  of  their  new 
abode.  But  in  the  most  cases,  it  was  not  so.  In 
one  town  where  the  darkness  was  dense  as  that  of 
Home,  in  its  darkest  hours,  God  raised  up  a  church 
eminently  spiritual  and  intelligent,  planted  on  the 
faith  of  the  fathers,  and  composed  almost  entirely 
of  the  sons  and  daughters  of  Home.  In  many  and 
distant  States,  often  under  the  worst  influences,  the 
Spirit  sought  them  out,  and  led  their  feet  to  the 
Rock,  and  that  Rock  was  the  Christ  their  fathers 
loved.     He  is  one  that  ''  keepeth  his  covenant." 


140  HOME. 

One  was  a  preacher  of  error,  surrounded  by  a 
rich  church  who  loved  him  ;  far  away  from  Home. 
But  he  was  near  to  the  heart  of  our  fathers'  God. 
And,  in  the  pride  of  his  intellect,  and  strength  of  his 
love  for  error,  his  heart  was  bowed  before  the  cross 
of  the  Saviour,  whose  power  and  glory  he  denied. 
Another,  eager  for  gain,  in  the  marts  of  a  crowded 
city,  was  taught  to  get  gain  richer  than  the  most 
fine  gold.  Another,  where  "  storm  was  upon  the 
midnight  waters"  far  from  the  land  and  from  the 
influences  of  the  gospel,  was  led  by  His  hand  who 
guides  the  storm,  to  rest  on  the  same  Saviour.  Did 
they  cease  to  love  their  birth-place,  when  Divine 
love  filled  their  hearts  ?  Their  letters,  their  visits, 
their  prayers  will  answer.  They  warned,  they 
reasoned,  they  prayed,  and  with  tears  often  be- 
sought the  old  friends  of  their  youth  to  be  recon- 
ciled to  God.  And  it  was  not  in  vain.  Though 
the  prophet  is  less  honored  in  his  own  country, 
sometimes,  yet  in  other  cases  he  finds  willing  hearts, 
that,  for  love's  sake  will  receive  his  message.  The 
more  instances  of  such  conversion  occurred,  and 
the  oftener  these  loved  ones  returned,  the  more  the 
gospel  became  associated,  in  men's  minds,  with  all 
the  tender,  human  affections  of  our  nature.  And 
this  is  always  a  great  point  gained.  The  power  of 
sympathy  can  then  act,  in  subduing  the  pride  of 


HOME.  141 

the  heart,  and  recalling  the  erring  intellect  to  the 
faith  of  the  fathers.  It  is  difficult  to  exert  a  direct 
influence  for  Christ  over  our  family  relations.  They 
know  our  faults  so  well,  and  we  are  so  conscious 
that  they  do,  that  we  are  reluctant  to  address  them 
with  the  fidelity  we  can  freely  use  with  strangers. 
But  if  we  truly  live  for  Christ,  and  our  sincere 
devotion  is  manifest,  not  all  our  known  foibles  and 
sins  will  prevent  the  voice  of  affection  from  reach- 
ing the  heart.  True,  a  man's  foes  sometimes  are 
found  in  his  own  household.  Some  are  embitter- 
ed against  the  gospel  in  proportion  as  they  become 
acquainted  with  its  nature.  Perhaps  the  most 
bitter  enemy  of  the  gospel  in  all  Home,  is  one  of 
those,  who  for  many  years  has  most  clearly  under- 
stood its  principles ;  nay,  had  much  to  do,  in  ear- 
lier days,  with  its  revival.  The  love  of  sin  in  the 
heart  will  not  always  yield  to  the  voice  of  con- 
science or  an  enlightened  judgment.  So  our  Lord 
teaches  when  he  tells  unbelievers,  "Now  ye  have 
both  seen  and  hated  both  me  and  my  Father,"  The 
very  preaching  of  its  truths  leads  some  sinners  to 
embrace  their  opposite  errors.  And  the  manifesta- 
tions of  the  power  of  grace  in  some  hearts,  are  ac- 
companied by  a  more  bitter  hostility  in  the  hearts 
of  those  who  refuse  to  have  Christ  reign  over  them. 
The  proud,  the  vain,  the  lover  of  pleasure,  the  man 
ambitious  of  worldly  honor,  as  well  as  the  openly 


142  HOME. 

vicious,  will  show  the  enmity  of  their  hearts  against 
the  Holy  one,  when  the  gospel  disturbs  their  self- 
complacency  ;  they  will  resist  its  claims  till  the 
power  of  the  Spirit  softens  their  hearts,  convinces 
them  of  their  sinful  nature  and  life,  and  leads  them 
to  rejoice  in  Christ,  their  Saviour. 

How  flamed  the  enmity  to  the  gospel,  in  many 
hearts  in  Home,  when  at  last,  the  truly  pious,  en- 
couraged by  their  increasing  numbers,  established 
Sabbath  worship,  and  employed  pastors  once  more, 
like  in  faith  and  holiness,  to  those  whose  ministry 
our  fathers  loved!  ''  The  town  would  be  impover- 
ished by  so  many  churches."  The  valuations  sho\y 
a  large  increase  of  wealth!  "  These  people  will 
come  to  poverty,  by  paying  so  much  to  new  teach- 
ers and  churches,  and  other  new  objects."  The 
pious  have  rapidly  and  steadily  increased  in  wealth, 
in  almost  every  instance  !  "  They  mean  to  say  we 
are  not  Christians."  Ah,  there  spake  the  guilty 
conscience,  awakening  from  the  sleep  of  ages,  and 
seeing  Christ  afar  off!  The  gospel  was  no  longer 
to  be  veiled  from  men's  understandings,  though 
they  were  still  free  to  reject  the  r^ign  of  holy  love 
over  their  hearts.  Grace  has  a  "  constraining"  but 
no  compulsory  power  over  man.  God  worketh  in 
us,  both  to  will  and  to  do  his  pleasure,  but  never 
forces  one  heart  into  his  service.  The  Christian 
convert  says,  "  T  rejoice  to  do  thy  will,  O  God  !" 


143 


CHAPTER  X. 

PHYSIC   FOR    A  GUILTY   CONSCIENCE. 

I.  The  wedding. 
It  was  an  old  family  mansion,  built  when  timber 
was  plenty  and  boards  cheap !  The  very  garret  con- 
tained more  square  feet  than  a  modern  built  cottage 
ornee.  The  high  spacious  rooms,  painted  in  land- 
scape, furnished  with  heavy, old,  rich  carved  furni- 
ture spoke  of  wealth  and  ancestral  taste.  The  yel- 
low paint  was  something  faded  ;  but  the  twining 
honeysuckle  and  jasmine  added  a  far  richer  orna- 
ment, reaching  to  the  very  roof  tree,  and  half  shad- 
ing the  windows.  The  very  offices  round  the 
dwelling  look  like  plenty.  The  barns — long 
ranges  of  building — are  filled  with  hay  and  grain  ; 
and  the  hired  man  is  just  driving  into  the  yard  a 
herd  of  cattle  and  sheep  that  a  Patriarch  might  not 
despise  for  numbers  or  beauty.  Between  the  barn 
and  corn-house  you  can  just  get  a  glimpse,  over 
the  hill  tops,  of  the  rich  hickory  woods  that  furnish 
that  noble  wood-pile,  with  its  two  years'  supply  of 
seasoned  wood  in  advance,  that  looks  provident 


144  HOME. 

for  human  comfort.  The  dwellers  here  need  fear 
no  fierce  wintry  storm  !  Look,  where  the  sun  is 
just  setting  in  a  blaze  of  glory,  that  perfectly  daz- 
zles you !  Shade  your  eyes,  and  get  a  view  of  that 
noble  orchard  of  every  variety  of  fruit,  and  the 
garden  and  shrubbery,  close  at  your  feet.  No 
want  of  fruit  or  pulse  for  the  well  furnished  table, 
or  cider  richer  than  wine  for  the  cellar.  Just  now 
the  laborers  are  gathering  the  last  winter  apples. 
Count  up  the  barrels.  One,  two,  twenty,  eighty, 
two  hundred  barrels  !  Why  there's  fruit  enough 
for  all  Home.  Doubtless  there  is  a  greater  varie- 
ty stored  and  preserved.  For  you  may  see  round 
the  garden  rows  of  quince  trees,  plumbs,  apricots, 
pears,  currants,  raspberries,  and  every  other  deli- 
cious thing  our  cold  climate  will  nourish.  And 
there  is  even  a  green-house,  yonder,  half  hid- 
den under  the  hill-side,  for  exotic  flowers  and 
fruits,  and  to  supply  early  vegetables  for  the  table. 
Then  in  front,  and  round  the  dwelling,  see  how 
rich  the  green  turf  is,  spotted  over  with  rose  bushes 
and  lilacs.  But  lift  up  your  eyes  a  little.  See  the 
successive  terraces,  faced  with  hewn  stone,  rough 
hewn,  for  ornament ;  and  loaded  with  every  flower 
that  w-ill  bloom  in  Autumn.  You  seethe  roots  of 
many  a  spring  and  summer  beauty  have  been  car- 
ried to  the  hot  house.     Here  is  taste  presiding 


HOME.  145 

over  wealth.  Raise  your  eyes  again,  and  follow 
my  hand  !  Do  you  see  that  green  spot,  to  the  east, 
under  that  hill,  where  the  horses  are  drinking? 
There  is  the  spring.  Now  trace  the  little  stream 
down  hitherwards,  through  the  pasture,  by  the  line 
of  verdure.  It  crosses  the  road  in  a  broad  sheet  of 
clear,  sparkling  water.  There  is  a  load  of  guests, 
coming  to  the  bridal,  driving  over  the  rustic  bridge. 
Who  are  they,  I  wonder  1  No  matter  ;  the  rich 
and  happy  have  many  friends.  The  brook  passes 
so  close  to  the  terrace  wall  that  we  must  go  to  it, 
to  see  the  pickerel  and  trout  disporting  in  its  hol- 
lows. Mark  how  it  winds  away  to  the  south, 
through  that  broad  rich  meadow,  till  it  is  lost  in 
the  woods,  almost  a  mile  off.  Follow  the  high 
road,  in  the  same  direction,  and  count  the  houses, 
of  every  form,  size  and  fashion.  There  you  can 
see  the  oldest  house  in  town  !  Just  over  it  you  see 
the  high  steeple  of  our  church.  Some  people  do 
say,  that  it  is  a  pity  the  vane  is  so  near  to  heaven, 
and  the  people's  hearts  so  far  off!  But  come!  I 
see  the  guests  are  going  into  the  parlor,  the  par- 
son must  have  come  while  we  have  been  gazing 
on  the  bride's  rich  farm  and  fine  prospects. 

There  stands  the  young  bride,  the  owner  of  the 
old  mansion  and  its  rich  grounds.    She  is  clad  in 
simple  white.     Why  should  she  be  ornamented  1 
13 


146 


HOME. 


Every  one  knows  she  is  rich.  She  is  rather  short — 
no  fault,  in  my  eye.  Her  form  is  round,  a  little  too 
full ;  but  never  mind  it.  Her  long  hair  curls  in  the 
neck.  There's  a  single  rose  bud,  half  blown,  stuck 
in  the  golden  clasp  of  her  girdle,  and  another  half 
hidden  in  that  ringlet  over  the  left  brow.  Her  blue 
eyes,  that  commonly  lack  expression,  are  surely 
beautiful  now !  She  is  speaking  to  his  sister  ;  that 
accounts  for  it.  The  expression  is  mild  ;  but  the 
slight  move  of  the  lip  and  nostril  speak  of  decision* 
That  round  forehead,  and  head  drawn  back,  tell  of 
pride  as  well  as  power.  The  smile  is  too  stately 
for  me ;  but  I  am  not  the  lover  ;  only  his  cousin, 
which  makes  all  the  odds  in  the  world.  See  that 
rich  library?  There  are  many  things  which  the 
elegant  literature  of  our  own  and  other  lands  and 
tongues  can  supply.  It  is  most  of  it  a  bridal  pre- 
sent. I  wish  there  was  more  of  religion,  less  of 
taste,  there.  There  is,  to  be  sure,  Blair,  beside  of 
Byron;  Lathrop's  Sermons,  stuck  between  two 
volumes  of  Rosseau's  Emilie  ;  but  they  are  not 
much,  that  is,  not  so  very  much  better.  So,  it  is 
literature  without  religion.  How  old  is  the  bride  ? 
Just  twenty-four,  to-day. 

The  bridegroom  is  not  tall,  but  certainly  the 
most  elegant  man  in  the  room,  tho'  the  parson  does 
feel  so  proud  of  his  stately  form  !     He  must  be 


HOME.  147 

about  twenty-six.  I  dont  quite  like  his  eye ;  it  is 
too  sensual.  But  his  fine  features  are  manly.  They 
say  he  was  wild  in  college.  Nay,  that  he  was  car- 
ried to  his  room  intoxicated,  commencement  night. 
But  he  has  studied  law,  since,  and  it  is  to  be  hoped 
he  learned  the  laws  of  temperance.  His  old,  rich 
family,  honored  for  generations,  would  not  suffer 
him  to  marry  this  heiress  if  he  was  not  correct  in 
his  habits.  I  don't  like  to  see  so  much  infidel  litera- 
ture in  that  book  case.  If  he  must  have  the  Hen- 
riade,  he  might  have  left  out  the  Dictionaire  Phi- 
losophique,  so  called,  because  there's  no  philosophy 
in  it !  But  how  happy  James  looks  !  I  did  not 
think,  when  I  laughed  with  him,  last  spring,  about 
the  heiress,  that  they  would  be  united  so  soon,  if 
ever.  But  he  has  gained  h\s  first  cause,  and  I  do 
not  believe  he  will  care  to  plead  another  ! 

The  solemn  words  of  blessing  were  uttered. 
There  was  stillness,  some  tears,  then  kisses,  con- 
gratulations, feasting,  the  sparkling  goblet,  mirth, 
wit  and  song,  till  the  guests  retired  to  their  homes. 

TI.   The  funeral. 
Two  years  later  the  same  guests  were  again  as- 
sembled, clothed  in  the  garments  of  woe.    There 
was  a  crowd  in  and  around  the  dwelling,  filling 
every  room  and  the  whole  yard.     There  was  an 


148  HOME. 

expression  of  pity  and  pain,  rather  than  sorrow,  on 
almost  every  face.  Look  back  a  little.  James  was 
by  birth,  education,  professional  attainments,  men- 
tal gifts  and  wealth,  justly  entitled  to  rank  with  the 
first  young  men  of  his  time.  The  pet  son,  he  had 
been  too  much  indulged.  The  college  bills  were 
large ;  but  so  were  his  father's  before  him.  There 
were  too  many  "  wines"  and  "  suppers,"  by  far, 
for  entire  sobriety;  but  he  graduated  with  honor. 
Young  men  would  be  wild,  a  little;  so  his  father 
said,  and  the  whole  family  agreed.  His  profession 
was  only  to  give  him  some  gentlemanly  calling. 
There  was  no  lack  of  wealth.  Besides  political 
eminence  was  what  he  aspired  to,  and  what  his 
friends  wished.  Now  married  into  an  old  and 
wealthy  family,  with  popular  talents,  pleasing 
manners,  education,  leisure,  and  many  friends, 
what  might  he  not  hope  for  ? 

The  friends  and  the  bride  knew  not  that  the 
habits  of  intemperance  were  already  formed  ;  that 
the  eye  was  often  brilliant  with  the  excitement  of 
champaign,  and  the  song  inspired  by  incipient  de- 
lirum.  We  littlei  thought  of  such  things,  then, 
in  the  days  of  darkness.  Fond  of  elegant  litera- 
ture were  the  whole  family  circle.  The  bridal 
months  passed  away  brilliantly,  happily.  The 
cloud  in  the  distance  was  not  noted.    In  the  open- 


HOME.  149 

ing  spring,  he  must  become  the  gentleman  farmer. 
He  must  work  with  his  laborers,  or  pretend  to, 
and  drink  with  them.  By  autumn  he  was  often 
drunk  with  them  !  By  another  year,  his  only  as- 
sociates were  low,  drunken  laborers,  intoxicated 
in  the  field  before  noon,  every  day.  The  farm  was 
neglected,  money  wasted,  friends  lost,  bad  passions 
roused,  oaths  common,  brutality  towards  all  but  his 
wife,  frequent,  and  hope  of  reform  gone  !  Who 
shall  tell  how  the  young,  childless  woman  mourned 
over  her  lost  visions  of  bliss?  How  she  sought 
refuge  from  trouble  in  literary  pursuits,  in  music, 
in  song,  in  social  visits  !  How  her  pale  cheek  and 
passionless  eye  told  of  a  breaking  heart !  Had  one 
word  of  unkindness  ever  fallen  from  Mm,  it  would 
have  broken !  So  he  died,  as  the  fool  dieth,  and 
we  all  came  to  mourn  with  the  living,  and  to  bury 
the  loathsome  body  out  of  her  sight.  There  was 
no  consolation  for  her,  in  the  character  of  the  de- 
parted ;  the  healing  power  of  the  gospel  she  knew 
not.  The  pastor,  in  his  prayer,  said  that  time 
soothed  our  sorrows,  and  the  offices  of  friendship. 
So  why  speak  of  the  gospel  !  So  we  buried  him, 
and  left  the  young  widow  alone  to  weep. 

HI.   The  brother's  letter. 
"  Dearest  G. — My  beloved  and  most  cherished 
13* 


150  HOME. 

sister,  my  heart  is  deeply  wounded  by  the  news  of 
your  affliction.  If  my  love,  my  tears,  my  very  life 
could  give  you  consolation,  you  know  they  should 
be  yours.  I  will  not,  I  must  not,  speak  of  him  you 
have  lost.  I  do  mourn  over  his  untimely  grave  ; 
but,  my  sister,  I  mourn  far  more  for  you  !  You 
have  no  comforter!  You  would  not  hear  me,  in 
the  hours  of  Joy.  Your  heart  ached  with  the  ex- 
cess of  your  happiness,  present  and  in  near  pros- 
pect. You  said  you  admired  the  divine  benefi- 
cence, and  were  grateful  for  every  blessing ;  you 
loved  the  Giver !  Ah  sister,  your  love  and  grati- 
tude were  only  the  reflection  of  your  own  happi- 
ness. Everything  smiled  on  you,  and  your  smiles 
answered  again.  You  were  offended  when  I  told 
you  that  your  heart  was  far  from  God,  and  was 
lifted  up  with  sinful  pride.  You  almost  denied 
that  I  loved  you,  or  appreciated  your  character. 
Am  I  not  right,  sister  1  Did  I  not  see  in  you  the 
picture  of  my  own  nature,  softened  as  woman's 
form  is,  but  still  the  same  ?  When  I  preached 
the  wiles  of  error,  and  believed  in  the  native  pu- 
rity of  my  proud  heart,  was  I  not  just  so  deceived 
myself?  I  thought  I  loved  God  ;  but  he  was  not 
in  all  my  thoughts,  in  the  real  holiness  of  his  cha- 
racter. My  proud  heart  was  not  subdued  to  his 
sovereign  will.     May  I  read  your  heart,  dearest 


HOME.  151 

G.  ?  Has  affliction,  so  sharp,  so  severe,  so  over- 
whelming, prepared  you  to  see  what  is  passing 
within  ?  You  weep  all  day,  and  refuse  to  be  com- 
forted. The  words  of  sympathy  seem  to  be  mock- 
ery. At  night  you  sleep  only  from  exhaustion. 
In  the  morning  you  ask,  *  Why  is  my  lot  so  much 
more  bitter  than  that  of  others  V  In  the  evening 
you  say,  '  I  surely  have  not  deserved  it.  What 
sin  have  I  committed,  that  God  should  be  so  se- 
vere ?  Is  this  his  goodness  that  smiled  so  serene- 
ly upon  me  ?  I  expected  sorrow  and  death  at  some 
time ;  but  not  to  have  the  hopes  of  my  youth  so 
blasted.  How  have  I  deserved,  not  suffering  only, 
but  this  shame  V  Do  I  read  you  right,  G,?  Is 
not  this  the  voice  of  your  heart  ?  And,  in  the  still- 
ness of  the  night,  does  no  voice  add,  *  your  heart 
is  not  right  in  the  sight  of  the  Holy  One  V  Three 
months  have  now  passed  away,  since  that  sad  day ; 
and  you  write  me  you  have  no  comforter  still. 
Suffer  one  who  loves  you  with  both  a  brother's 
and  a  father's  tenderness,  to  probe  your  heart,  be- 
fore I  point  you  to  that  only  Comforter  I  know. 
You  find  your  loved  music  has  lost  its  soothing 
power ;  he  used  to  sing  with  you.  Did  you  ever 
*  make  melody  in  your  heart,  unto  the  Lord  V  Did 
you  ever  sing  to  His  praise,  with  devout  affections  ? 
You  loved  literature.    But  what  was  it  ?   Did  it 


152  HOME. 

tell  aught  of  God,  his  holy  law,  the  evil  of  sin,  the 
corning  jndgment,  the  cross  of  a  Redeemer's  mer- 
cy and  agony,  the  life  beyond  the  dark  valley? 
Was  not  every  book  of  this  nature  omitted  or  un- 
read ?  You  read  the  Bible  at  times,  I  know.  But 
did  you  make  it  the  guide  of  your  life  ?  Did  you 
ever  try  to  regulate  your  affections  and  your 
thoughts  by  its  holy  precepts  ?  Did  you  ever  se- 
r^cflisly  try  to  please  God,  for  one  entire  week,  or 
even  day  of  your  life?  I  know  you  united  with 
the  church,  on  your  marriage.  But  did  you  real- 
ly feel  that  you  were  consecrating  your  heart  to 
Christ?  That  you  were,  thenceforth,  to  '  walk  in 
newness  of  life  V  I  know  you  have  sometimes 
prayed ;  but  did  you  ever  really  delight  in  the 
presence  of  the  Holy  God  ?  Or  was  it  an  irksome 
thought  that  he  read  your  heart,  and  knew  your 
very  thoughts  before  they  were  your  own  ?  You 
say  you  find  no  pleasure'  in  your  former  literary 
pursuits,  because  they  so  constantly  remind  you 
of  past  joys  and  present  sufferings.  But  if  you 
really  regarded  your  Maker  as  having  a  right  to 
dispose  of  you,  would  you  so  murmur  ?  Is  he  not 
holy  ?  Is  he  not  perfect  in  wisdom  ?  Is  he  not  al- 
ways just  ?  (I  ask  your  conscience  and  your  under- 
standing ;  do  not  let  your  heart  answer  for  them). 
Does  he  ever  willingly  afflict  or  grieve  the  children 
of  men  ?  Must  there  not  be  in  your  own  character, 


HOME.  153 

ample  reasons  to  justify  all  these  judgments  of  his 
hand  1  T  know  the  innocent,  the  righteous  some- 
times suffer.  I  know  you  are  free  from  outward 
stain,  and  grosser  passions.     But  are  you  holi/  ? 

Three  years  ago,  you  made  choice  of  your  com- 
panion. Which  was  dearest  to  your  heart,  he,  or 
your  God  ?  Did  you  not  feel  that  you  were  sttong, 
your  life  of  joy  secure  beyond  doubt  or  change? 
Was  not  your  heart  lifted  up  with  pride?  Was 
you  humble  in  the  day  of  your  prosperity  ?  Ah,  do 
I  not  know  my  sister's  heart  from  my  own  ?  Have 
we  not  had,  from  infancy,  the  same  joys,  sorrows, 
books,  favorite  topics  of  thought,  views  of  men,  of 
society,  and  of  '  02ir  place^  in  it  ?  Did  you  not 
think  it  a  strange  thing,  five  years  ago,  to  have 
your  proud  brother  commend  humility,  meekness, 
and  forgiveness  of  injuries  ?  Did  not  my  sister  ask 
me,  '  if  I  would  be  coward  enough  to  submit  to  in- 
sult?' Did  not  you  say  that  such  a  religion  you 
could  not  respect  ?  Was  not  that  the  heart  of  pride  ? 
'God  resisteth  the  proud;  he  knoweth  their 
thoughts  afar  off;  but  he  giveth  grace  to  the  humble.' 

You  say  you  shrink  even  from  the  society  of 
dear  friends.  Is  not  this  the  fruit  of  your  morti- 
fied pride  ?  Dearest  sister,  I  weep  over  your  sor- 
rows. But  I  cannot  alleviate  them  by  suggesting 
any  aliment  for  a  sinful  heart.     I  see  in  all  your 


154  HOME. 

excessive  sorrow,  only  the  fruits  of  a  proud,  selfish, 
passionate,  unrenewed  heart,  just  such  as  mine 
was  when  we  wept  together  by  our  dying  mother's 
bedside.  Have  you  forgotten  my  passionate  grief? 
Did  I  not  murmur  against  the  Holy  One  ?  I  love 
all  that  circle  of  friends  around  you.  There  is  not 
one  of  them  but  I  connect  some  early  joy  with  their 
forms  and  voices.  But  does  one  of  them  all  speak 
to  you  of  the  sinful  heart,  and  the  atoning  Sa- 
viour ?  They  speak  of  divine  goodness  in  sparing 
you  yet  many  blessings.  But  is  there  one  of  them 
all  that  tells  you  of  the  goodness  of  God  in  afflict- 
ing you  ?  No,  they  do  not  understand  that.  Their 
hearts  have  learned  submission  as  little  as  we  had 
learned  it,  when  mother  died.  Now  sister,  I  be- 
seech you,  turn  not  away  from  the  view  of  your 
own  sinful  heart.  Let  your  mind  dwell  on  it,  till  by 
God's  spirit,  you  discover,  as  I  did,  in  my  own  bo- 
som, its  dark,  deadly  depravity.  Humble  yourself 
before  God,  and  confess  your  guilt,  your  pride, 
your  sinful  life  of  worldly  pleasure,  your  forgetful- 
ness  of  the  claims  of  his  holy  character  to  your 
love ;  of  his  law,  to  your  heart's  obedience ;  of 
your  fellow-men,  to  your  wealth,  your  prayers, 
your  toils  for  their  good.  Did  you  ever  think  of 
loving  the  souls  of  others  ?  When  you  taught  poor 
Lily  to  read  the  Bible,  was  her  salvation  from  sin 


HOME.  155 

and  death  your  motive  ?  Did  you  pray  that  her 
heart  might  be  holy  ?  You  pitied  one  so  igno- 
rant; but  did  you  weep  over  her  sinfulness?  Sat- 
isfied that  she  reformed  her  outward  life,  did  you 
seek  to  purify  her  heart  ?  I  speak  of  her  as  a  test 
of  the  state  of  your  heart,  because  she  was  so  en- 
tirely under  your  control.  You  won  praise,  and  de- 
served it,  for  the  decision  that  rescued  her  from  a 
life  of  shame,  and  restored  her  to  society.  But  was 
it  compassion  for  the  woman,  or  a  desire  to  save  the 
sinner  ?  Did  you  ever  think  of  praying  with  her  ? 
Did  you  speak  to  her  of  Christ,  the  dying  Saviour, 
who  would  take  away  her  sins  ?  or  was  it  only  of 
virtue,  honor,  restored  happiness  and  respect? 
You  did  well ;  but  did  you  act  as  a  Christian. 

Have  I  read  your  heart,  my  sister  ?  Oh  then  let 
me  point  you  to  my  Comforter  ?  Look  up  to  the 
cross !  He  died  to  save  you.  He  has  all  the  affec- 
tions of  a  loving,  human  heart.  He  wept  over  the 
grave  of  his  friend.  He  wept  with  the  sisters  of 
Bethany.  His  warmest  sympathies  are  ever  with 
the  sorrowing.  And  then,  he  has  power ;  power  to 
take  away  the  very  source  of  all  sorrow  ;  power  to 
say  :  *  daughter,  thy  sins  are  forgiven  thee.'  His 
hand  can  wipe  away  all  tears,  and  His  Holy  Spirit 
fill  your  bosom,  in  an  hour,  with  peace,  comfort, 
joy.  He  can  reveal  to  you  his  holy,  pure,  self-deny^ 


156  HOME. 

ing  character,  as  the  one  worthy  object  of  your  en- 
tire love  and  worship ;  and  fill  your  soul  with  such 
peace  as  all  the  world  cannot  impart  or  take  from 
you.  He  takes  away  the  remorse  of  sin,  the  humil- 
iating sense  of  guilt,  the  shame  for  sin.  He  teaches 
us  to  abhor  our  sinful  pride,  to  be  clothed  with 
humility,  to  rejoice  in  affliction,  to  strive  to  con- 
sole ourselves,  not  by  solitude  and  tears,  but  by  do- 
ing good  to  others.  You  say  your  poor  neighbor  is 
dead.  Have  you  been  there,  two  mourners,  to  weep 
together  ?  I  think  I  see  your  heart.  It  says  :  '  she 
is  not  a  proper  associate  for  me.'  I  grant  it ;  but 
the  refined,  the  educated,  the  gifted,  may  weep 
with  the  humblest  and  most  debased  of  the  poor. 
Did  not  your  very  station,  and  your  common  sor- 
row render  it  fitting  that  you  should  forget,  for  the 
time,  the  barriers  of  society,  and  carry  peace  to  the 
guilty  family  if  you  could  ?  Ah,  sister,  the  blessed 
Comforter  was  wanting  to  your  own  heart !  The 
spirit  of  Christ,  the  image  of  Divine  benevolence 
was  not  in  your  own  bosom,  and  you  knew  not  how 
to  comfort  one  who,  like  you,  had  both  shame  and 
sorrow  at  once.  Oh  sister,  whom  I  have  so  long 
loved,  for  whom  I  have  prayed  and  wept,  even  in 
your  proudest  days  of  happiness,  let  fraternal  love 
warn  as  well  as  entreat  you  to  flee  at  once  to  the 
Saviour.    Cast  on  him  your  double  burden  of  sor- 


HOME.  15T 

row  and  sin ;  He  will  forgive  the  one  and  soothe 
the  other,  as  no  power  of  earthly  sympathy  can, 
as  no  ministering  angel  may.  Lift  up  your  fallen 
spirit  to  the  revealed  Deity ;  the  God  clothed  in 
the  likeness  of  sinful  flesh,  for  the  very  purpose  of 
removing  our  sins  and  woes,  and  so  making  us 
*  partakers  of  the  Divine  nature.'  In  the  face  of 
the  Man  of  sorrows,  behold  the  compassion  of  a 
God.  In  the  eye  of  human  sympathy,  that  weeps 
over  the  tomb  of  the  loved  one,  see  the  mercy  of 
the  Lord  of  all  power.  In  the  voice  of  his  tender 
love,  hear  the  words  of  glory :  '  I  am  the  Resur- 
rection and  the  Life.  He  that  believeth  in  me, 
though  he  were  dead,  yet  shall  he  live  !'  Is  not 
here  a  balm  for  your  spirit  1  Is  not  here  a  power 
to  give  you  consolation  and  peace?  Is  there  not 
here  One  worthy  of  love  ?  In  living  to  Him  and 
for  Him  who  died  for  us,  will  you  not  find  com- 
fort? Is  he  not  wisdom,  strength,  life,  peace,  all 
the  soul  needs  ?  Come,  beloved  G.,  lay  aside  the 
spirit  of  heaviness,  and  take  from  Christ  the  gar- 
ments of  praise.  Devote  your  life  to  Him.  Your 
literary  tastes,  your  musical  talents,  your  social 
influence,  your  wealth,  let  all  be  given  to  the  task 
of  winning  others  to  his  love.  Who,  in  all  your 
circle,  give  proof  that  the  love  of  God  is  the  spring 
of  their  actions?  In  whose  face  does  Christ  ap^ 
14 


158  HOME. 

pear,  in  the  glory  of  his  self-denying  love?  Oh, 
wake  to  live  for  him  !  My  dearest  sister,  I  have 
written  with  many  tears — with  constant  prayer.  In 
the  day  of  prosperity  you  thought  me  harsh,  too 
strict,  wanting  in  the  mildness  of  the  Christian,  be- 
cause I  could  not  smile  on  a  life  of  pleasure.  Now, 
in  the  day  of  sorrows,  hear  my  voice  of  love,  and 
let  our  Saviour  bid  you  live.  Then  you  shall  re- 
joice that  you  have  been  afflicted  ;  that  your  bright 
morning  found  so  bitter  a  night  so  near. 
With  sympathy  and  love. 

Your  brother  W. 
March  12,  18—." 

"  Cruel,  cruel  brother !  Why  must  he  add  more 
bitterness  to  my  grief  ?  Does  he  not  know  I  differ 
from  him  in  his  new  creed  ?  Am  I  to  be  set  down 
as  one  utterly  lost  in  sin  ?  But  after  all" — and  here 
was  a  pause  of  serious  reflection,  followed  by  a 
flood  of  tears — '*  after  all,  he  is  not  unkind.  And 
I  am  proud.  Oh,  he  has  been  reading  my  heart 
too  truly  !  I  have  lived  to  myself,  and  not  foil 
Christ.  There  is  something  more  than  a  creed  in 
all  this.  Let  me  read  it  again."  It  was  read  again, 
and  again.  Conscience  acknowledged  the  truth  of 
the  dark  picture,  so  faithfully,  yet  tenderly  drawn. 
The  sinful  heart  began  a  fierce  struggle.  Pride 
counselled  anger  at  the  reprover.  The  letter  was 
torn  in  two,  and  cast  indignantly  aside ;  and  the 


HOME.  159 

weeping,  passionate  widow  fled  to  her  chamber, 
and  wept  alone,  on  her  bed,  in  agdtoy — there  was 
no  sleep  for  her  that  night. 

IV.  The  Physicians. 

A  week  later,  the  young  widow  was  tossing  on 
her  bed,  unable  to  rise.  She  was  sick,  so  they  all 
said,  around  her ;  all  but  one,  the  humble  woman 
who  had  dreamed,  so  long  before,  oi" the  great  light 
just  in  the  direction  of  this  dwelling  !  She  saw  the 
struggles  of  the  sin-sick  soul.  But  she  was  only 
the  nurse  for  the  body.  Never  left  alone,  regarded 
as  a  weak  enthusiast,  she  could  not  speak  to  the 
proud  and  sick  lady,  of  the  Saviour.  What  ailed 
her  ?  The  pastor  came,  once  and  again.  She  did 
not  weep;  yet  she  seemed  in  anguish.  "  Where 
is  your  pain  ?" 

"  Oh,  it  is  my  heart ;  I  have  crucified  my  Sa- 
viour !  I  have  rejected  him  who  bought  me  with 
His  blood.  I  must  die  in  sin  !" 
H  "But  you  wander,  you  are  not  such  a  guilty  being. 
How  have  you  sinned  so  much  ?  Surely  your  woes 
will   cancel  such  sins  as  your  pure  life  allowed." 

"  Oh,  my  heart  is  full  of  pride  and  selfishness. 
I  have  lived  without  God." 

"  Surely,  my  dear  G — ,  you  are  wrong — calm 
yourself.  You  have  always  respected  religion,  you 


160  HOME. 

have  sincerely  admired  the  benevolence  and  good- 
ness of  God  i4bll  his  works  and  ways.  You  have 
never  wilfully  broken  his  laws.  He  will  not  be  a 
severe  Judge." 

"  Oh  yes,  1  have  never  loved  his  holiness.  I  lov- 
ed pleasure,  and  was  dead  while  I  lived.  God  was 
afar  off,  and  Christ  had  no  comeliness  to  my  soul. 
I  saw  no  need  of  a  dying  Saviour ;  and  now  his 
frown  is  upon  my  soul!  Oh  pray  that  my  sins 
may  be  forgiven,  or  I  must  perish." 

*'  Surely  you  do  not  fear  that  you  are  to  be  cast 
into  an  eternal  hell,  for  any  sin  you  have  commit- 
ted !" 

"  Oh,  I  have  sinned.  My  sins  are  great.  How 
shall  I  wash  away  my  sins  ?  It  is  not  that  I  fear 
wrath,  but  because  I  deserve  it  that  I  cry  for  re- 
lief    Oh,  what  shall  I  do  ?" 

It  was  a  new  case  for  the  pastor.  He  had  heard 
of  such  things  among  the  benighted  "  orthodox," 
but  he  regarded  it  as  weakness,  or  worse.  In  vain, 
day  after  day  he  tried  to  calm  her  spirit.  It  would 
not  rest.  The  agitated  mind  prostrated  the  vigor 
of  the  body.  The  pulses  quickened  and  beat  with 
the  violence  of  a  fever.  The  clear,  powerful  intel- 
lect dwelt  always  on  the  great  evil  of  sin,  a  sinful 
heart,  in  which  the  love  of  pleasure  reigned,  where 
the  love  of  Christ  should  have  ruled  alone.     The 


HOME.  161 

pastor  knew  no  remedy  for  her  disease ;  he  was 
not  sure  but  it  was  insanity.  So  tl|||)hysician  was 
sent  for.  He,  two,  was  a  member,  and,  in  fact,  if 
not  by  formal  choice,  for  many  years  an  officer  of 
the  church.  He  had  heard  cries  for  mercy  by  the 
couch  of  the  dying  sinner.  But  here  was  a  new 
case  for  him.  Here  was  one  of  spotless  life,  amia- 
ble temper,  well  educated,  groaning  in  anguish 
over  the  sins  of  the  heart !  It  was  a  new  case. 
Then  he  felt  the  pulse,  and  the  brow  that  burned 
like  fire.  She  had  a  fever !  There  was  danger  of  in- 
flammation of  the  brain  I  He  ordered  her  an  emet- 
ic, and  some  powders  every  two  hours !  They 
were  faithfully  given.  Poor  medicine  to  purge 
away  the  burden  of  sin  from  the  guilty  conscience ! 

That  night  the  widow  remembered  the  torn  let- 
ter. "  Oh  run  Mrs.  M.,  and  bring  me  a  letter  you 
will  find  in  the  parlor.  Oh,  I  was  wicked  to  tear 
it."  It  was  brought, — read  again  with  tears. 
Now,  it  was  no  longer  cruel.  It  told  of  Christy 
just  such  a  Saviour,  just  such  a  Comforter,  just 
such  a  Physician  as  her  soul  needed.  She  turned 
to  the  pious  nurse.  "  Is  there  any  hope  that  Christ 
will  receive  one  so  guilty  as  1  am?  Oh,  I  have 
been  blind  to  all  hidp^ing  love !" 

"  He  came  to  seek  and  to  save  that  which  was 
lost ;"  "  not  to  call  the  righteous,  but  sinners  to 
10* 


162  HOME. 

repentance."  "  Though  your  sins  be  as  scarlet, 
they  shall  be  l||^ite  as  wool."  "  The  blood  of  Je- 
sus Christ  cleanseth  from  all  sin."  So  answered 
the  poor  widow,  in  the  words  of  holy  writ, 
while  the  rich  widow,  poor  in  her  riches,  bowed 
with  all  her  soul  to  the  majesty  of  the  simple  word 
of  God.  Now  the  glory  of  the  cross  was  revealed 
to  her ;  and  she  cried  out,  "  Oh,  I  have  found 
Him  ;  I  have  found  my  Saviour ;  help  me  to  praise 
Him  !  Oh  what  a  glorious,  holy,  kind,  gracious 
Lord  he  is !" 

Then  her  sweet  voice  burst  out  into  a  song  of 
praise,  in  the  words  so  often  sung  without  thought, 

"  Now  to  the  Lamb  that  once  was  slain, 
Be  endless  honors  given." 

Before  the  stanza  was  ended,  her  voiced  choked. 
But  it  was  with  rapture  !  She  '*  made  melody  in 
her  heart  unto  the  Lord." 

The  morning  dawned  sweetly.  It  was  the  Sab- 
bath. The  fever  of  the  pulse  was  gone.  The 
calmness  of  holy  joy  was  in  the  soul,  and  the  clear 
intellect  saw  the  glory  of  the  Invisible  God  reveal- 
ed in  his  Son.  It  was  a  day  of  joy  and  praise. 
Such  a  Sabbath  had  not  been  known  in  that  old 
mansion  for  half  a  century.  The  very  air  seemed 
vocal  with  praise. 


HOME.  •  163 

The  news  soon  spread  far  and  wide.  The  pas- 
tor came,  and  found  a  gentle,  joyous  spirit,  meek 
and  mild,  but  fervent  in  exhorting  him,  too,  to  seek 
that  Saviour  she  had  found.  The  physician  was 
pointed  to  a  remedy  for  sin  he  had  never  known. 
Friends  were  warned,  counselled,  entreated, 
prayed  for.  Some  doubted,  some  mocked,  some 
listened.  But  the  pious  rejoiced  and  thanked  God 
that  the  "great  light"  shone  !  The  poor  widow 
said  the  "  little  lights"  would  soon  appear  !  And 
they  did  !  I  cannot  follow  the  after  life  ;  the  pray- 
ing wife  and  mother,  the  leader  of  the  social  cir- 
cle for  worship,  the  teacher  of  the  Sabbath  school, 
the  Bible  class;  the  faithful  guide  to  youthful  rel- 
atives, the  reprover  of  sin  and  unbelief  in  the  ma- 
tured. Life  closed  too  soon.  But  not  till  many 
precious  fruits  followed  that  strange  sickness,  and 
the  remedies  of  the  physicians  !  There  was  no 
insanity  here ;  nothing  to  destroy  the  force  of  the 
example.  Here  was  wealth,  education,  literary 
tastes,  fashion,  loveliness,  all  consecrated  to 
Christ,  with  views  of  truths  so  clear,  with  humili- 
ty so  marked,  with  experience  so  rich,  that  none 
who  were  willing  to  see  could  doubt  it  was  the 
work  of  God.  It  carried  the  gospel,  in  its  living 
power,  again,  into  the  centre  of  the  most  refined 
circle  of  Home  and  its  vicinage.     So  the  widow's 


164  *  HOME. 

God  became  her  friend.  Her  comforter  was  her 
Saviour.  And  henceforth,  in  the  eyes  of  all,  she 
lived  for  him.  There  were  errors,  foibles,  weak- 
nesses ;  but  **  the  life  of  faith  on  the  Son  of  God," 
was  not  concealed  by  them.  The  brother  rejoic- 
ed. The  angels  rejoiced.  And  doth  not  the  Lord 
rejoice  over  the  *'  lost,  found  ?"  He  "  taketh  them 
in  his  arms  and  carrieth  them  in  his  bosom."  He 
has  "  loved  them  with  an  everlasting  love."  On 
his  throne  of  glory  his  heart  is  in  all  their  sorrow, 
and  rejoices  in  all  the  bliss  he  bestows  on  them, 
in  the  fulness  of  his  own  love.  .^^  when  they 
lay  aside  the  body  of  clay,  "  his  hand  shall  lead 
them  in  green  pastures,  and  by  the  still  waters ;" 
his  voice  shall  teach  them  the  "  new  song"  which 
none  can  sing  but  his  redeemed  ones.  There 
"  his  servants  shall  serve  him,"  in  holy,  useful, 
blessed  activity,  forever. 


HOME.  165 


CHAPTER  XI.* 

Old  ties  broken — The  faithful  pastor — Old  George 
— The  Bible  Class — The  vicious  saved — Election  justi- 
fied ;  the  narrative — The  strayed  sheep  looked  up — 
The  aged  sinner  saA-ed — The  poor-house — Sabbath 
schools — ^Laws  of  sanctification — Temperance — The  last 
argument;  holy  living. 

Hard  wa^  the  struggle  when  the  disciples  at 
last  withdrew  from  the  places  where  our  fathers 
had  worshipped  so  long.  The  very  graves  around 
seemed  to  reproach  them  !  On  that  seat,  the  now 
gray  headed   man  of  fourscore,  when  a  tiny  boy 

*  As  the  details  of  the  preceding  chapter  are  simple  mat- 
ters of  history,  the  reader  may  be  intei-ested  to  know  some 
additional  facts,  inadvertently  omitted  by  the  author,  serv- 
ing to  connect  the  heroine  of  the  last  chapter  with  "  the 
faithful  pastor"  of  the  following.  He  it  is,  who  was  sum- 
moned to  her  aid,  when  the  advice  of  her  accustomed 
spiritual  guide  and  the  prescriptions  of  her  physician  all 
proved  unavailing.  He  it  is,  who  with  the  "  poor  widow," 
stood  by  the  bed-side  of  that  agonized  woman  and  talked 
to  her  of  the  good  physician;  told  her  of  that  bleeding  and 
atoning  Lamb,  and  urged  her  to  believe  and  live.  And 
when,  at  last,  her  "  lips  were  filled  with  rejoicing,"  his  voice 


166  HOME. 

had  seen  his  silken  haired  greai-grand-father,  as 
he  worshipped  "  leaning  on  the  top  of  his  staff." 
Every  beam  of  the  old  edifice  had  some  sacred 
association.  There  were  the  friends  of  his  child- 
hood. With  them  he  must  part,  for  Christ's  sake. 
The  wife  left  the  husband  behind.  The  child 
did  not  always  follow  the  parent.  And  when,  for 
the  last  time,  the  aged  walked  slowly  away  from 
that  house,  after  lingering  in  its  aisles,  on  its  door- 
stone,  by  the  hill-side,  many  a  sad  look  was  cast 
back,  and  the  head  bowed  down,  the  tear  trickled 
over  faces  not  often  seen  so  moistened  by  the 
tears  of  sorrow.  But  Christ  required  it.  The 
faith  of  the  gospel  was  no  longer  preached  ;  the 
Lord  had  given  them  numbers  and  a  heart  to 
maintain  his  worship  in  its  purity ;  and  all  these 
old  and  tender  associations  must  be  broken  up. 
The  formation  of  churches  composed  of  living 
members  of  the  body  of  Christ,  was  soon  followed 
by  the  settlement  of  faithful  pastors.     Then,  in 

mingled  with  hers  in  ascriptions  of  praise.  It  was  their 
first  song  together,  but  not  their  Jast^  as  the  domestic  altar 
and  the  secret  chamber  of  the  wife  and  husband  will  attest. 
The  indulgent  reader  will  readily  pardon  the  author  for 
the  above  omission,  when  told  that  the  entire  manuscript 
of  this  book  was  written  in  the  eleven  days  Avhich  intervened 
between  Mi-.  Torrey's  conviction  and  sentence. — Pub. 


HOME.  167 

succession,  all  the  varied  means  of  growth  in 
knowledge  and  grace  were  enjoyed,  and  the 
work  of  renovation  was  more  rapidly  onward. 

True,  the  bitter  feelings  connected  with  the  sep- 
arations closed,  for  a  time,  some  minds  against  the 
truth.  It  spoke  so  loudly  to  men  of  the  fallen  state 
of  the  old  churches,  that  many,  whose  hearts  were 
ruled,  partly  by  pride,  and  partly  by  old  associa- 
tions, were  grieved  and  angry.  So  there  were  re- 
proaches, curses,  tears.  The  path  of  duty  is  not  al- 
ways a  pleasant  one.  Peace  does  not  always  follow 
the  steps  that  the  wisdom  of  the  just  may  indicate. 

Still,  as  time  run  on,  such  feelings  pass  away. 
Many  wished  to  hear  the  new  pastors.  If  their 
doctrines  were  not  always  understood,  or,  if  under- 
stood, not  loved,  still  there  was  no  doubt  about 
their  holy  living.  They  had  faults,  weaknesses, 
foibles,  like  other  men.  But  their  zeal,  humility, 
faith  and  love  for  the  soul  were  not  hid. 

The  \(ie^o{  the  faithful  pastor  was  revived  once 
more.  One  was  a  man  of  polished  manners.  He 
was  a  ripe  scholar,  an  agreeable  companion.  His 
preaching  was  instructive,  his  doctrine  ever  main- 
tained by  reference  to  the  Bible  alone.  There 
was  a  directness  and  plainness  in  his  addresses  to 
the  conscience,  that  it  was  not  easy  to  avoid.  It 
was  his  rule,  that  no  man  should  ever  be  able  to 


168  HOME. 

say,  "  I  have  seen  the  pastor,  and  he  never  spoke 
to  me  of  the  soul  and  the  Saviour."  It  was  not 
always  wise ;  but  the  honest  fidelity  with  which 
he  acted  on  it,  commanded  respect.  "  The  man 
must  be  in  earnest,"  it  was  said.  It  was  a  new 
thing,  too.  Our  old  pastors  were  not  superior  to 
him  in  talent,  learning  or  refinement.  But  they 
never  talked  so  to  all  men,  and  to  the  very  child- 
ren, of  sin,  death,  and  Christ  the  Lamb  of  God. 

There  was  a  despised  couple,  a  woman  of  feeble 
powers,  and  t|ie  man  commonly  known  as  old 
George.  Perhaps,  in  past  days,  rum  had  done  its 
work  in  destroying  the  manhood  of  the  man.  Then 
they  were  poor  ;  objects  of  charity,  just  kept  out 
of  the  alms-house.  Their  little  old  dwelling,  with 
its  one  room  and  a  garret,  was  the  meanest  hovel 
in  all  the  parish.  True,  it  was  very  neat.  The 
worn  out  floor  was  clean  and  nicely  sanded.  In 
summer  the  fire-place  was  always  filled  with  pine 
boughs,  and  wreaths  of  winter-green  and  wild 
flowers  were  thrown  over  the  little  looking-glass 
and  mantle-piece.  The  mind  was  feeble,  but  the 
love  of  God's  beautiful  things  was  not  lost.  They 
could  not  say  it,  but  they  saw  his  smiles  in  their 
flowers  and  foliage. 

Among  the  very  first  to  frequent  the  new  place 
of  worship  was  this  humble  couple.     There  was 


HOME.  169 

many  a  patch,  not  always  of  uniform  color,  in  the 
old  garments.  But  they  were  decent.  Modestly, 
they  took  the  **  loicest  seat."  But  they  were  not 
despised,  there,  as  the  worldly  church  despised 
them.  Nor  did  the  Holy  One  refuse  to  be  called 
their  Father.  So  *'  this  poor  man  cried,  and  the 
Lord  heard  him,"  and  filled  his  bosom  and  that 
of  his  meek  companion  with  the  fruits  of  the 
Spirit,  love,  joy  and  peace. 

The  pastor  rejoiced  to  see  how  "  God  chose  the 
weak  things  of  the  world  to  confound  the  mighty." 
Their  little  hut  was  made  the  place  of  stated  prayer, 
and  evening  preaching.  Many  an  excellent  ser- 
mon was  preached  there.  People  said  it  was  not 
"  respectable,"  and  wondered  the  pastor  could  find 
no  better  place ;  and  when  he  formed  a  Bible  Class 
there,  too,  and  made  it  so  interesting  that  the 
children  of  our  first  families  flocked  to  that  poor 
house  even  in  stormy  nights,  the  thing  became 
even  more  strange.  The  invitation  to  meet  in 
more  "  decent"  places  was  given  ;  but  the  pastor 
saw  that  God  honored  the  poor  hut,  and  he  would 
do  what  the  Lord  had  done.  So  the  Bible  Class 
generally  met  in  the  little  room,  from  year  to  year. 
How  full  of  humble,  quiet  happiness  that  poor 
man  and  his  wife  were,  on  those  days !  Had  God, 
in  very  deed  so  honored  their  low  estate  ?  Did 
15 


170  HOME. 

the  rich,  the  proud,  the  wise  come  to  their  old 
dwelling  to  learn  the  way  of  life?  How  could 
they  thank  God  enough,  for  such  honor  !  In  that 
little  room  a  family  altar  was  built.  There  was 
none  in  the  houses  of  the  rich,  for  a  mile  around. 
In  that  little  garret  was  a  place  for  constant  secret 
prayer.  Did  the  rich  love  to  pray  to  "  Our  Father 
who  seeth  in  secret  ?"  So  they  honored  God,  and 
he  honored  them,  and  made  their  little  hut  a 
Bethel.  Souls  were  born  there.  And  now,  when 
a  few  years  only  have  passed  away,  every  regular 
member  of  the  Bible  Class,  save  one  or  two,  is  a 
child  of  God  !  Some  have  already  entered  into 
their  rest.     Some  live,  and  their  light  shines. 

Three  of  the  group  are  pastor's  wives  ;  one  is 
a  professor  in  a  theological  school,  two  more  are 
preparing  to  preach  the  gospel  to  the  lost.  When 
the  world  is  burned  up,  if  that  little  hovel  does 
not  sooner  decay,  many  will  wish  to  have  it 
spared!  If  the  arts  of  design  are  cultivated  in  a 
future  world,  as  I  doubt  not  they  will  be — many 
a  pencil  dipped  in  light  will  depict  that  old  cot- 
tage, and  its  humble  inmates. 

As  religion  honored  the  weak,  so  it  began  tojj 
reform  the  profligate.  In  two  instances,  men  of 
the  most  depraved  morals,  brutal  in  ignorance,^ 
drunken,  profane,  lewd,  • "  to  every  good  work^ 
reprobate,"  were  reclaimed,  and  became  striking;! 


HOME.  171^ 

proofs  of  the  power  of  grace.  Everybody  admit- 
ted that  they  **  needed  to  be  born  again."  But  it 
struck  some,  very  forcibly,  that  no  such  results 
had  followed  the  popular  preaching,  for  a  long 
time.  Morality  had  been  promoted  by  it,  no 
doubt.  But  the  conversion  of  a  thoroughly  bad 
man  into  one  noted  for  purity,  meekness  and  self- 
denial,  was  a  new  thing  in  Home.  It  seemed  to 
some  that  Christ  had  indeed  come  to  call  sinners 
to  repentance.  In  one  instance  the  effect  was 
striking.  A  man  of  strong  mind,  well  acquaint- 
ed with  the  truths  of  the  gospel,  had  long  been 
resisting  the  voice  of  love.  His  reasoning  intel- 
lect was  thoroughly  convinced  that  the  doctrine 
of  election  was  true ;  a  part  of  God's  government, 
not  merely  revealed  in  the  Bible,  but  written  all 
over  the  history  of  man  and  angels.  And  he  did 
not  deny  the  right  of  the  wise,  holy,  and  just  God 
to  decide  the  destiny  of  all  his  creatures. 

But  the  heart  refused  to  submit  to  the  authori- 
ty that  the  conscience  and  mind  admitted  to  be 
right.  The  struggle  was  severe.  One  night,  a 
young  relative,  who  had  found  Christ  in  a  distant 
city,  had  been  speaking,  in  a  little  upper  room, 
of  the  Saviour  he  had  found.  The  sinful  heart 
was  touched,  but  the  old  struggle  revived  again. 

"  Why,"  said  the  sinner,  "  why  am  I  left  1  I 
nave  often  felt  that  it  was  a  great  hardship  that 


172  HOME. 

Others  were  taken  and  I  was  left.  There  are  this 
and  that  man — naming  the  converts — who  have 
always  lived  bad  lives,  profligate,  swearers,  de- 
spising everything  that  is  good.  Still  they  are 
converted.  I  have  always  been  moral,  respected 
religion,  and  tried  to  do  right  towards  others ; 
but  there's  no  mercy,  no  pardon  for  my  sinful 
heart."  The  strong  man's  frame  shook  with  the 
anguish  of  his  mind. 

"  Perhaps,"  it  was  said,  "  these  guilty  men  will 
be  better  examples  than  you,  more  needed,  here,  to 
show  the  power  of  grace.  And,  then,  are  you  quite 
sure  that  a  mother's  prayers  and  holy  life  have  not 
kept  you  from  grosser  depravity  than  these  men 
showed  1  Are  you  sure  your  heart  is  really  any 
better?  You  admit  that  you  are  a  sinner?" 
"Oh  yes,  I  feel  that;  that  is  all  my  trouble.  I 
may  be  as  guilty  as  they,  in  heart ;  but  why  are 
they  preferred  to  me  ?" 

"  I  am  not  God,  to  answer  to  his  motives.  But 
if  you  are  guilty,  is  he  under  any  obligation  to 
have  mercy  on  you?" 

"  No,  I  know  he  is  not  bound  to  save  me." 
"  Then,  look  at  your  heart.  Even  now,  it  rebels 
against  the  principles  of  his  government  that  you 
admit  to  be  founded  in  his  own  wisdom,  power 
and  justice.  With  such  a  heart,  is  it  not  just  and 
right  that  God  should  leave  you  to  perish  ?" 


HOME 


173 


The  conscience  of  the  sinner  answered  "  yes." 
"  Then,  if  you  do  perish,  the  justice  of  God  will  be 
known  in  it.  God  has  seen  your  sinful  heart,  been 
very  gracious  to  you,  long-suffering  has  marked  all 
his  dealings  with  you  ;  blessings  are  multiplied  to 
win  your  gratitude ;  Christ  is  as  freely  offered  to 
you,  as  to  any  other  man.  And  if,  after  all,  you 
are  a  "  vessel  of  wrath,"  will  not  God  be  justified, 
by  your  own  character,  in  the  eyes  of  all  men  ?" 

The  sinner  again  assented  in  silence.  "  Now, 
it  is  not  certain  that  you  are  to  be  lost.  You  are 
yet  alive ;  you  see  your  guilt ;  conscience  is  not 
deadened ;  the  Holy  Spirit  is  evidently  striving 
with  you  to  lead  you  to  Christ.  And,  the  only 
way  in  which  you,  or  we  can  know  whether  you 
are  elected  or  not,  will  be  by  the  result  of  the  con- 
flict between  your  heart  and  the  Holy  Spirit.  Is 
it  not  so?  Then,  suppose  you  grieve  the  Holy 
Spirit  to  depart  from  you.  Will  that  change  one 
fact  in  the  Divine  Government  ?  It  may  settle 
the  question  that  you  perish ;  but  your  admitted 
sins  will  justify  God,  no  matter  what  his  reasons 
may  be  for  sparing  others  as  guilty  as  you.  The 
very  fact  of  your  election  is  unknown  to  you  or 
others.  And  it  is  in  vain  to  ask  the  reasons  of  a 
fact,  when  the  fact  itself  is  beyond  our  Ijinowledge." 

''But  what  shall  I  do,  then?" 
15* 


174  HOME. 

"  That  is  just  the  point.  Submit  to  the  govern- 
ment of  God.  It  must  be  founded  in  perfect  wis- 
dom, justice  and  goodness,  whether  you  see  all 
God's  motives  and  reasons  for  action,  or  not.  Let 
me  ask  you  ;  which  would  be  the  most  guilty  of 
the  two,  in  refusing  submission ;  these  debased, 
ignorant  men,  or  you,  with  your  clear  views  of 
God's  character  and  will  ?  Which  would  God  be 
more  honored  in  sparing,  in  view  of  the  degrees  of 
light  you  enjoy  1  And  if  spared,  are  you  any  ways 
sure  that  your  whole  life,  here  and  hereafter,  will 
be  as  useful  to  the  kingdom  of  Christ  as  theirs?" 

He  admitted  there  might  be  very  good  reasons, 
besides  his  own  guilt,  why  others  should  be  saved 
in  -preference  to  him — and  this  is  the  doctrine  of 
election,  the  whole  of  it:  viz — **  That  there  are 
reasons  aside  from  the  obligations  of  justice  to  the 
moral  character  of  the  subjects  of  Divine  govern- 
menf,  why  one  man  is  made  a  subject  of  Divine 
mercy,  and  another  is  not."  Is  it  not  according 
to  common  sense,  as  well  as  the  Bible? 

"  Then  what  is  your  plain  duty  ?  Are  you 
wiser  than  God,  that  you  shall  undertake  to  judge 
of  his  decisions,  before  you  know  what  they  are, 
or  on  what  they  are  based  ?  Enough  for  you  to 
know  that  he  has  provided  for  your  pardon,  by  the 
blood  of  his  Son ;  and  that  he  offers  you  mercy 


HOME.  175 

if  you  will  submit  to  have  him  reign  over  you. 
Will  you  do  so?" 

So  the  proud  heart  was  broken,  and  the  sinner 
knelt,  and  confessed  his  guilty  rebellion,  and  rose 
up  ''justified  ;"  the  love  of  God  filling  his  heart. 
No  longer  he  complains  that  others  are  savecT;  he 
only  wonders  why  he  was  spared  ;  why  frowning 
justice  consented  to  smile  on  his  soul,  and  mercy 
stooped  to  heal  his  sinful  heart.  And,  in  every 
form  of  trial  and  suffering,  since  that  hour,  he  has 
proved  that  the  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
was  sufficient  for  him. 

The  faithful  pastor  did  not  omit  to  preach  in  the 
neglected  districts,  where  piety  had  been  almost  for- 
gotten. There,  indeed,  the  gospel  was  welcomed. 
The  young,  especially,  crowded  the  school-houses 
and  dwellings  to  hear  the  words  of  life.  Some, 
too,  came  to  mock.  Some  of  the  older  sinners 
were  angry  at  being  disturbed  in  their  sins.  Re- 
pent ;  not  they !  Keep  the  Sabbath  ?  Why,  they 
did'nt  work  much,  and  as  for  avoiding  other  modes 
of  desecrating  it,  that  was  an  "  orthodox"  affair. 
But  still,  in  those  districts  where  the  people  had 
so  entirely  forgotten  the  public  worship  of  God, 
there  was  very  little  error  prevalent,  the  heart  did 
not  seem  so  indurated  by  sin.  One  family  after 
another,  who  had  listened  to  the  evening  sermon 


176  HOME. 

in  the  school-room,  began  to  frequent  the  house 
of  worship.  A  visible  improvement  in  morals, 
intelligence,  good  manners,  and  taste  in  dress  ap- 
peared, even  where  the  heart  was  not  affected. 
In  a  few  years,  these  neglected,  forgotten  dis- 
tricts were  more  fully  instructed  in  the  truths  of 
the  gospel  than,  perhaps,  any  other  part  of  Home. 
On  those  who  sat  in  darkness,  great  light  shone. 
There  was  one  conversion,  early  in  the  revival  of 
pure  faith  in  Home,  that  always  impressed  me 
very  much.     It  was  that  of  an  aged  sinner. 

He  was  a  soldier,  both  in  the  old  French  war, 
and  in  the  Revolution.  He  had  a  mind  of  far 
more  than  ordinary  power ;  his  reasoning  faculties 
were  especially  strong.  No  disguises  of  sophistry 
could  blind  his  powers  of  analysis.  I  believe  he 
always  derided,  as  weak,  the  arguments  men  urged 
against  the  doctrines  of  the  Pilgrims.  Not  that  he 
cared  for  religion  ;  not  he  !  In  the  army  he  be- 
came intemperate  and  infidel  in  his  views,  or 
rather  in  his  feelings  more  properly.  He  nevei 
would  hear  any  one  assail  the  truth  without  reply 
He  had  a  frame  of  iron.  No  severity  of  toil  seemi 
ed  to  shake  it.  In  old  age  he  had  the  strengtl 
of  early  manhood.  But  he  lived  in  sin.  In  othei 
days,  his  life  was  a  standing  reproach  to  the  gos 
pel.  For  who  so  constantly  and  powerfully  de- 
fended the  doctrines  of  the  Bible,  as  this  gray 


HOME.  177 

headed  sinner!  Men  said  that  they  preferred  a 
better  life  with  a  shorter  creed  !  They  did  not  so 
much  consider  that  his  life  was  at  war  with  his 
theory.  At  last,  when  nearly  fourscore  years  old, 
the  Holy  Spirit  made  the  truths  his  lips  had  al- 
ways defended,  a  sword  to  slay  the  sins  of  his 
heart.  The  gray  head  became  a  crown  of  glory, 
because  it  was  found  in  the  way  of  righteousness. 
Storm  or  sunshine,  his  venerable  form  was  always 
in  the  pulpit,  by  the  side  of  the  minister,  though 
he  lived  remote  from  the  meeting.  The  last  time 
I  saw  him  was  at  his  own  fireside.  He  had  lived 
to  see  almost  one  hundred  years.  Many  around 
him  had  arisen  up  to  bless  him  for  his  prayers, 
his  warnings,  his  holy  living.  He  spoke  with  an 
old  soldier's  ardor  of  the  struggles  of  our  fathers 
in  the  days  of  peril ;  but  his  eyes  lighted  up  with 
rapture  when  the  Captain  of  salvation  was  named. 
"  Yes,  I  shall  soon  see  him  in  his  glory  !  I  am 
waiting  to  be  called  home.  And  then  I  shall  no 
longer  be  fettered  with  this  dying  body ;  for  I 
know  I  shall  be  like  Him." 

The  people  of  Home  were  ever  humane  to  the 
poor.  It  was  one  of  the  first  towns  in  the  country 
to  provide  well,  handsomely,  for  their  comfort. 
But  the  soul  was  forgotten,  till  the  faithful  pastor 
set  the  example  of  preaching  in  the  poor-house. 


178  HOME. 

There,  too,  fruits  of  his  fidelity  were  found.  Thus, 
in  all  Home,  the  poor,  once  more,  had  the  gospel 
preached  to  them.  If  the  gospel  was  hidden  from 
any  class,  as  such,  it  was  from  the  rich.  For, 
perhaps,  at  no  period  did  the  selfish,  grasping 
spirit  of  our  rich  men  become  so  manifest,  and  so 
hard  to  be  borne  by  its  victims,  as  after  the  resto- 
ration of  the  pure  faith  was  begun.  They  hard- 
ened themselves  in  sin,  and  sometimes  took  no 
little  pains  to  draw  others  away  from  the  faith. 
With  what  fiendish  joy  one  of  them  once  boasted 
of  his  success  in  "driving  religion  out  of  the  head" 
of  a  young  man  who  had  been  awakened,  and 
seemed  almost  persuaded  to  be  a  Christian  !  The 
young  man  afterwards  became  a  profligate  infidel, 
and  for  years  was  a  despiser  of  all  good,  and  espe- 
cially of  the  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 

The  spiritual  pastors*  at  once  gave  their  atten- 
tion to  the  instruction  of  the  young.  The  Sabbath 
schools  and  Bible  classes  they  formed  in  different 
parts  of  the  town  embraced  not  only  the  youth  of 
their  own  churches,  but  many  others,  who  had  no 
religious  instruction  at  home.  The  aged,  too, 
soon  began  to  join  the  classes  ;  the  more  readily, 
because  the  old  country  habit  of  staying  at  noon 

*  Referring  to  the  Baptists  and  Methodists,  as  well  as 
the  Congregationalists. 


HOME.  179 

was  still  common.  I  never  felt  deeper  emotion 
than  when  standing  before  a  Sabbath  school  class 
composed  of  eight  persons  over  seventy  years  of 
age.  All  but  one  of  them  were  old  disciples. 
What  could  youth  teach  them  of  the  love  of 
Christ,  or  the  experiences  of  the  Christian  life  1 
The  teacher  became  the  pupil.  But  the  example 
was  a  blessed  one.  It  taught  all  men  to  reverence 
the  Bible,  to  see  gray  heads  sitting  down  with 
little  children,  often  their  great-grand-children,  to 
study  its  sacred  pages. 

The  teachers  of  error  began  to  be  aware  of  the 
power  the  Sabbath  school  was  gaining,  for  the 
gospel,  over  the  minds  of  the  young.  Much  as 
they  derided  Elle*n  C's  school,  years  before,  it  now 
began  to  be  found  out,  that  if  the  young  mind 
was  so  pure  by  nature,  it  would  not  continue  so 
without  appropriate  education.  This  drew  some 
away  from  the  influences  of  the  gospel.  But  with 
hardly  one  exception,  all  of  the  first  generation  of 
Sabbath  scholars  are  now  members  of  the  church- 
es. For  some  years,  there  were  scarcely  any 
others  converted  to  Christ.  I  know  not  that 
many  were  converted  by  the  direct  agency  of 
Sabbath  school  instruction.  But  they  were  pre- 
pared by  it  for  an  intelligent  hearing  of  the  gos- 
pel. So  that  it  was  the  same  thing,  in  the  end. 
Give  me  a  thorough,  intelligent  acquaintance  with 


180  HOME. 

the  doctripes  of  the  Bible,  in  the  hearer,  if  you 
wish  to  have  his  soul  subdued  by  the  power  of  the 
cross.  It  is  a  mistake  to  suppose  that  such  an 
acquaintance  with  the  truth  hardens  the  heart. 
Nay,  repeated  awakenings,  by  the  Holy  Spirit, 
do  not  harden  the  heart,  unless  the  power  of 
grace  is  directly  and  wilfully  resisted.  It  rather 
prepares  the  way  for  an  easier  conquest  of  the  af- 
fections for  Christ.  Probably  very  little  faithful 
teaching  is  unaccompanied  by  divine  influence. 
It  would  be  a  sad  task,  indeed,  to  teach  our  chil- 
dren day  by  day,  morning  and  evening,  "  here  a 
little  and  there  a  little,"  if  the  necessary  effect,  by 
the  laws  of  their  nature,  sinful  as  it  may  be,  was 
to  harden  them,  up  to  the  hour  of  their  conversion. 
My  mind  was  first  called  to  the  fallacy  of  the  pop- 
ular notion  on  this  subject,  by  the  reports  of  the 
Ceylon  Mission.  The  substance  of  the  repeated 
statements  of  Poor,  Winslow,  Scudder,  and  other 
spiritual  men  and  clear  observers,  was,  that  those 
who  had  once  been  awakened,  were  the  surest  to 
be  again  the  subjects  of  divine  influence,  and  the 
most  certain  to  become,  after  a  time,  the  children 
of  God.  Much  observation,  since,  has  confirmed 
the  view.  While  the  renewal  of  the  heart,  in  one 
respect,  is  the  work  of  divine  power,  in  a  moment 
of  time,  still,  every  power  of  the  soul,  before  and 
after  that  point,  is  gradually  educated  by  the  Holy 


HOME.  181 

Spirit,  and  trained  to  harmonious,  holy  action. 
This  is  the  reason  why  those  who  are  well  trained 
for  years,  are  more  useful  and  well  balanced  dis- 
ciples, than  persons  who  have  lived  to  adult  years 
ignorant  of  the  gospel.  The  soil  is  better  fitted 
for  the  sower  ;  the  harvest  is  richer.  When  will 
men  learn  that  the  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit  is 
ever  acting  upon  every  human  soul  1 — that  its 
sanctifying  power  is,  in  general,  just  in  propor- 
tion to  the  amount  of  truth,  adapted  to  the  condi- 
tion and  wants  of  the  individual  mind  ! — that  this 
is  the  philosophy  of  the  direction  to  divide  right- 
ly the  word  of  truth,  giving  to  every  man  his  por- 
tion in  due  season? — that,  in  a  word,  the  laws  of 
sanctification  are  as  fixed,  as  immutable,  and  may 
be  as  perfectly  known  as  the  principles  of  Chem- 
istry or  any  other  science  ? 

I  have  much  wished  to  see  some  profound  rea- 
soning intellect,  governed  by  holy  affections,  de- 
vote years  of  life  to  an  analysis  of  Christian  ex- 
perience,  as  developed  by  the  lives  of  all  classes 
of  men.  The  greatest  source  of  error  would  be, 
that  we  have  so  imperfect  a  record  of  the  errors 
and  sins  of  any.  Who  would  ever  know  that 
Payson  had  a  fault,  from  his  memoir  ?  Yet,  if 
he  had  not  sins  many  and  obvious,  his  diary  is 
only  a  new  case  of  the  morbid  anatomy  of  dis- 
16 


182 


HOME 


eased  piety  ?  The  biography  that  so  conceals  the 
nature  of  the  sins  of  an  eminent  Christian  is  of 
little  value,  with  reference  to  any  real  progress 
in  divine  life.  The  value  of  the  lessons  of  the 
judgment  day  will  very  much  depend  on  its  per- 
fect development  of  the  sins  of  the  holy,  their 
struggles  with  temptation,  and  the  modes  in  which 
the  victory  was  secured. 

The  temperance  reform,  like  all  other  reforma- 
tions in  morals,  is  no  party  or  sectarian  work. 
Yet  it  is  true,  beyond  question,  that  those  who 
loved  the  pure  faith  were  its  earliest,  most  ardent 
friends.  For  years,  the  pious  who  were  not  its 
friends  were  the  rare  exceptions.  It  was  not  so 
with  other  men.  But  in  the  end,  all  men  are  led 
to  see  the  moral  value  of  such  reforms;  and  a 
thousand  motives,  besides  a  regard  to  man's 
spiritual  welfare  may,  nay  ought  to  excite  men  to 
labor  in  them.  For  every  right  motive,  whether 
it  is  drawn  from  the  influence  an  act  may  exert 
on  ourselves  or  others,  our  present  good,  or  our 
salvation,  should  have  its  proper  place.  Only, 
let  the  love  of  Christ  be  the  controling,  governing 
principle  of  our  life.  Then  we  shall  please  him, 
while  we  benefit  our  fellow-men. 

There  is  a  large  class  of  men  who  do  not  judge 
of  the  truth  or  value  of  any  religious  doctrine  by 
its  effects  on  their  sympathies,  or  its  appeals  to 


HOME.  183 

their  reason.  They  may  admit  your  arguments 
to  be  strong,  your  proofs  decisive,  your  appeals 
eloquent.  Still,  they  refuse  to  submit  their  own 
hearts  to  its  claims.  It  is  not  from  enmity  to  the 
gospel.  They  hate  it  no  more  than  other  sin- 
ners ;  perhaps  not  so  much.  They  treat  it  with 
respect.  But  they  want  to  see  its  value  tested  by 
experience.  As  they  see  men  made  more  pure, 
honest,  meek,  humble,  benevolent,  by  its  power, 
they  yield  themselves  to  its  control.  It  is  in  vain 
you  tell  them  that  God  has  a  rightful  claim  to 
their  hearts,  to-day.  They  may  admit  it.  But  if 
they  see  God  manifest  in  the  life  of  the  disciple, 
and  that  life  is  holy,  your  argument  has  power. 
The  class  of  cautious,  ultra,  prudent  men,  I  be- 
lieve are  seldom  won  to  Christ  by  any  other  pow- 
er than  that  of  the  Christian  life.  And,  on  the 
introduction  of  the  pure  faith  where  it  has  been 
forgotten  or  is  unknown,  the  influence  of  religion 
on  the  temper,  the  passions,  the  social  habits,  the 
morals,  and  other  more  obvious  acts  of  the  Chris- 
tian, will  be  far  more  carefully  weighed,  by  this 
class  of  men,  than  the  inward  spirit.  If  the  outer 
temple  is  fair  and  firm,  they  may  venture  within. 
The  more  sanguine,  at  once  examine  the  very 
penetralia  of  the  building.  It  is  not  easy  to  say 
which  form  the  most  useful  Christians  when  they 


184  HOME. 

are  converted.  But  their  very  nature  makes  the 
first  more  firm  in  purpose,  though  their  power  to 
win  others  by  appeaFs  to  their  affections  is  less. 
It  once  tried  me,  very  much,  when  I  saw  this 
cautious,  steady,  cool-headed  class  of  men,  in 
Home,  so  steadily,  as  it  seemed,  holding  them- 
selves aloof  from  the  influences  of  the  gospel.  I 
set  them  down  as  hardened  in  their  worldliness. 
It  was  only  their  natural  temperament.  When 
time  enough  had  elapsed  to  argue  with  them  by 
the  power  of  holy  living,  they  began,  one  after 
another,  to  yield  themselves  to  Christ.  Holy 
families  were  needed,  to  develope  the  power  of 
the  gospel,  in  all  the  relations  of  life.  God  raised 
them  up,  and  scattered  them,  as  if  on  purpose, 
in  every  remote  section  of  the  town ;  so  that  none 
might  want  the  means,  in  their  ordinary  inter- 
course with  men,  of  comparing  the  teachings  of 
the  spiritual  faith  with  the  lives  of  those  who 
claimed  to  love  it.  The  result  was  and  is  favor- 
able to  the  truth.  What  preaching  could  not  do 
for  some,  holy  living  and  holy  dying  have  done. 
Men  have  seen  the  truth 

"  drawn  out  in  living  characters," 

and  therefore  they  have  said  that  they  too  would 
yield  their  best  affections  to  its  control. 


HOME.  185 


CHAPTER  XII. 

The  dead  left  alone — Satire,  yet  truth — Eeligion  imitated 
— Spirit  without  knowledge — Preaching  q/"  Christ,  but 
not  preaching  Christ — The  wild  flower — Piety  in  child- 
ren— Benevolence — Paid  pastors  no  "  hirelings." 

When  the  godly  withdraw  from  a  corrupt 
church,  the  first  effect  upon  the  old  body  is  evil. 
It  leaves  the  corrupt  to  themselves.  They  have 
none,  or  very  little,  of  the  principle  of  life  remain- 
ing. "  The  blind  lead  the  blind  and  both  fall  into 
the  ditch."  It  should  induce  caution.  We  may 
decide  rashly  to  withdraw  from  the  corrupt  body, 
before  all  hope  of  renewed  life  is  really  gone.  And 
while  we  are  permitted,  even  with  much  suffering, 
to  labor  within  the  body  to  revive  it,  it  is  seldom 
wise  to  withdraw.  When  once  the  pious  have 
separated,  it  requires  time  and  many  forms  of  in- 
fluence to  give,  from  without,  the  impulse^  to  re- 
form within  the  body.  But  it  can  be  done.  Faith 
and  perseverance  build  the  city,  or  destroy  it. 

No  more  severe  or  just  estimate  of  the  spiritual 
condition  of  the  decayed  church,  when  the  pious 
16* 


186 


HOME 


have  departed  was  ever  drawn,  than  in  a  letter 
that  a  fallen  minister  addressed  to  one  of  the 
churches  of  Home,  after  the  death  of  their  pastor. 
It  was  to  this  effect : 

"  Dear  Friends. — I  warmly  sympathize  with  you 
in  view  of  the  great  loss  you  have  sustained  in  the 
removal  of  your  pastor  to  another,  and,  I  trust,  a 
better  world.  I  feel  for  the  church,  and  would  be 
glad  to  do  anything  in  my  power  for  its  welfare. 
I  will  very  gladly  come  and  preach  for  you,  at  a 
cheap  rate,  till  you  have  time  to  look  about  you 
for  another  shepherd.  And  I  am  not  at  all  par- 
ticular what  doctrines  I  preach  ;  be  it  Unitarian- 
ism,  Universalism  or  Orthodoxy.  I  will  conform 
to  the  wishes  you  may  express  on  the  subject,  be- 
ing always  willing  to  give  satisfaction  to  my  em- 
ployers, and  especially  to  benefit  those  in  whom  I 
naturally  feel  so  deep  an  interest,  as  I  do  in  the 
people  of  Home.  Let  me  hear  soon,  and  believe 
me,  I  am  as  you  are,  and  you  are  as  I  am. 

W.  W." 

The  pious  are  stable  in  their  opinions,  because 
their  doctrinal  views  enter  deeply  into  their  Chris- 
tian experience.  But  when  the  truth  is  lost,  the 
mind  of  man  is  often  like  the  waves  of  the  sea. 
There  is  very  little  definiteness  of  ideas  or  firmness 


HOME.  187 

of  belief  on  religious  topics.  There  is  a  marked 
disposition,  always,  to  substitute  "  sincerity"  or 
*'  liberality,"  or  some  other  equivocal  virtue,  for 
true  holiness ;  and  amiable  manners  and  feelings, 
for  the  love  of  Christ.  The  people,  in  general, 
were  "  not  particular  about  doctrines,"  unless  the 
majority  might  be  averse  to  the  truth.  A  few  de- 
sired to  hear  the  faith  of  the  fathers  once  more. 
One  humble  man  spoke  of  the  need  of  a  pious 
pastor.  The  most,  wanted  the  zeal  and  efficiency 
of  true  religion,  without  the  doctrines  that  gave 
them  birth.  In  a  word,  the  gospel  had  so  far  im- 
pressed all  minds,  that  a  conviction  that  some  im- 
portant change  in  their  condition  was  needed, 
was  universal.  Some  preferred  to  adopt  a  newer 
system  of  error.  Others  preferred  to  attempt  an 
imitation  of  the  religious  life,  without  the  princi- 
ples on  which  it  should  have  been  founded. 

The  Sabbath  school,  it  was  very  easy  to  copy, 
in  form,  though  it  was  not  so  easy  to  find  men 
willing  to  pray  at  the  opening  of  its  session,  if  the 
pastor  was  not  there. 

The  social  prayer-meeting  was  far  more  difficult 
to  copy.  Men  were  not  in  the  habit  of  praying. 
They  had  no  great  idea  of  the  power  or  utility  of 
prayer ;  and  their  hearts  did  not  love  it.  So  the 
meeting  became  a  social  gathering,  where  ladies 


188  HOME. 

brought  their  knitting,  and  fruits  and  jellies  were 
served  up.  Still,  the  opening  prayer,  and  the  hour 
spent  in  conversation  respecting  Bible  truths,  were 
not  without  benefit.  The  teaching  here,  and  in 
the  Sabbath  school,  might  be  full  of  error ;  but 
there  could  hardly  fail  to  be  much  truth  also.  And 
when  men  meet  together  for  the  very  purpose  of 
studying  the  Bible,  with  reference  to  its  practical 
influence  over  their  own  hearts  and  lives,  it  can- 
not fail  to  have  a  decided  tendency  to  sanctify 
them,  or  to  prepare  them  to  be  sanctified.  When 
the  Bible  is  familiarly  studied,  not  all  the  daring 
sophistries  of  the  false  teacher  can  divest  the  mind 
of  the  impressions  which  its  plain  statements  of 
the  truths  of  redemption  will  make.  Family  wor- 
ship, in  a  few  instances,  was  re-established,  by  the 
aid  of  forms  of  prayer.  But  in  many,  the  use  of 
these  forms  as  read,  became  the  substitute  of  se- 
cret prayer. 

The  influence  from  without  is  felt  in  various 
forms.  Some,  while  on  visits  to  friends  abroad,  be- 
come truly  converted  to  Christ.  Holy  affections 
are  kindled  in  their  hearts.  And,  to  the  extent 
to  which  there  is  time  to  mature  their  experience 
as  Christians,  their  intellectual  views  of  the  gospel 
become  correct.  Returning,  however,  under  the 
old  influences  before  they  have  time  even  fully  to 


HOME.  181^ 

understand  the  nature  of  their  new  emotion,  lis- 
tening again  to  the  teachings  of  error,  they  make 
slow  progress  in  the  intellectual  knowledge  of  the 
gospel.  But  their  zeal,  their  spirituality,  their 
love,  the  sense  of  guilt  and  the  need  of  a  holy  na- 
ture remain.  These  fail  not  to  make  an  impres- 
sion for  good  on  others.  Not  a  few,  too,  are  thus 
converted,  by  the  occasional  hearing  of  the  word, 
or  by  reading,  at  home.  Like  the  other  class, 
their  imperfect  knowledge  hinders  their  progress 
in  divine  life ;  still  life  exists.  They  cease  to  op- 
pose the  gospel.  They  are  zealous  for  its  reform- 
ing influence  and  agencies.  They  are  benevolent 
in  their  lives.  In  many  a  church  where  error  is 
preached,  praying  circles  of  true  children  of  God 
have  thus  been  formed.  They  are  found  in  every 
stage  of  progress.  One,  by  heartfelt  experience 
has  learned  the  value  of  one,  another  of  five,  an- 
other of  ten  important  ideas,  never,  or  seldom 
heard  in  the  pulpit.  They  are  somewhat  like  a 
blind  man  feeling  his  way  cautiously  in  the  dark. 
Their  progress  is  slow,  but  their  steps  firm.  It 
is  progress. 

Some  persons  of  this  class  have  entered  the  min- 
istry, in  such  churches.  Their  serious,  pungent 
preaching,  has  been  followed  by  real  revivals  of 
religion,  of  true  religion ;  imperfect  in  its  views, 


190  HOME. 

defective  in  its  experiences,  but  still  bearing  the 
impress  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  Of  course,  the  truth 
not  seen  by  the  mind,  cannot  be  employed  by  the 
Spirit  to  sanctify  the  heart.  But  life  once  begun, 
the  Lord  of  life  will  carry  on  his  gracious  work 
to  its  consummation,  in  the  world  of  glory. 

Such  instances,  of  a  recent  date,  are  not  want- 
ing in  the  churches  of  Home.  May  God  multi- 
ply them  a  hundred  fold ! 

In  the  attempt  to  revive  the  spirit  of  piety  with- 
out its  principles,  many  of  the  richest  treasures  of 
Christian  faith  in  our  language,  have  been  widely 
circulated  in  Home  and  elsewhere.  The  practi- 
cal works  of  Flavel,  Baxter,  Bunyan,  Edwards, 
the  Abbotts,  and  a  score  more,  full  of  spiritual  and 
saving  truth,  not  stated  in  offensive  logical  forms, 
but  in  its  relation  to  the  affections  of  sinful  and 
holy  hearts,  cannot  be  read  without  saving  benefit 
to  many.  "  Circulate  these  volumes,"  I  once  said 
to  a  dear  friend,  "  and  we  shall  soon  agree  in  our 
views  of  Christ  and  his  gospel." 

"  If  the  result  follows  such  means,  I  shall  hearti- 
ly rejoice  in  it,"  was  the  reply.  The  work  is 
begun  ! 

How  often  have  I  mourned  over  the  defective 
preaching  of  the  truths  of  salvation  !  The  great 
defect  is  the  logical  forms  by  which  the  truth  is 


HOME.  191 

taken  out  of  its  relations  to  human  character  and 
experience.  No  matter  about  the  logic  of  the  doc- 
trine of  election  ?  The  important  thincr  is  to  in- 
duce submission  to  the  will  of  God.  That  will  is 
the  will  of  a  holy,  just,  gracious  God.  His  at- 
tributes give  him  the  right  to  control  us,  and  fit 
him  to  do  it.  Hence  the  duty  of  cordial  submis- 
sion to  his  government.  But  to  fight  over  the  log- 
ical battle  respecting  the  relations  of  God's  mind, 
will,  and  decisions  to  our  theoretical  freedom,  is 
of  little  avail  to  the  mass  of  minds.  In  logic,  the 
masses  will  reject  your  truth.  Preach  it  with  sin- 
gle reference  to  faith,  submission  and  humility, 
and  they  will  love  it. 

So,  what  matters  it  that  you  have  ten  thousand 
volumes  of  logical  proof  that  Christ  is  God?  and 
as  many  more  that  he  is  Man  ?  Both  are  true  ;  but 
neither  of  them  is  the  Bible  doctrine  of  Christ.  It 
is  the  God  manifested ;  the  love,  mercy,  wisdom 
and  power  of  God  revealed  in  the  face  of  Jesus 
Christ,  that  shall  "  draw  all  men  unto  him."  I  do 
not  mean  to  say  that  the  facts  are  of  no  impor- 
tance. But  a  single  fact  will  show  my  meaning 
clearly.  I  have  listened,  perhaps,  to  200  sermons 
on  the  Deity  of  Christ,  None  of  them,  save  one, 
was  preached  with  primary  and  direct  reference 
to  Christian  experience !     I  care  not,  as  a  dying 


192  HOME. 

sinner,  for  the  fact  that  my  Saviour  is  God  ;  unless 
you  show  me  {he  glory  of  God,  shining  in  his  face. 
Show  me  the  attributes  of  his  character,  and  ray 
heart  leaps  forth  to  embrace  him.  A  few  "  Re- 
vival Preachers,"  so  called,  such  as  Burchard  and 
Finney,  have  understood  this,  and  their  most  ef- 
fective sermons  have  often  been,  what  I  term 
practical  sermons  on  the  Deity  of  Christ.  So  of 
other  gospel  doctrines.  Preach  them  as  they  relate 
to  the  hopes,  fears,  struggles,  doubts,  temptations, 
trials,  joys,  triumphs  of  the  Christian  life  on  earth 
and  in  heaven  ;  and  they  become  the  power  of  God 
unto  salvation.  Alas,  how  many  might  be  obliged  to 
laid  aside  their  preaching  of  Christian  experience, 
because  that  to  do  justice  to  such  a  theme,  one 
must  know  more  of  it !  Prove  by  texts  and  logic, 
the  doctrine  of  total  depravity ;  and  I  hate  it  1 
But  point  out  the  daily  proofs  of  pride,  selfishness, 
vanity,  unbelief,  in  the  heart  and  life,  and  I  "  abhor 
myself,  and  repent  in  dust  and  ashes."  For  my 
own  common  sense  teaches  me  that  such  corrupt 
fruit  cannot  spring  from  a  good  tree. 

In  the  sands  of  the  desert,  sweet  wild  flowers 
sometimes  bloom  in  beauty.  There  was  one  exam- 
ple of  early  piety  in  Home,  after  the  awakening 
commenced  in  individual  minds,  that  was  never  ac- 
counted for  by  any  reference  to  external  teaching. 


HOME.  193 

There  was  no  adult  member  of  the  family,  or  its 
connections,  that  professed,  in. theory  or  practice, 
to  be  born  of  the  Spirit ;  none  who  believed  such  a 
doctrine.  They  were  rigidly  moral,  kind,  social. 
In  one  respect  the  family  was  a  model.  Without 
much  resort  to  the  rod,  the  children,  from  infancy, 
were  trained  to  instant  obedience  to  their  parents. 
I  never  knew  more  prompt  and  cheerful  obedience. 
This  made  the  family  circle  an  affectionate  one. 
But  is  was  worldly.  Prayer;jW^as  never  heard  there. 
It  was  the  youngest  son.  He  was  a  lovely  boy; 
he  laas  beautiful.  His  soft  flaxen  hair  curled  in 
ringlets  on  his  neck.  His  slight  form  was  rounded, 
and  elastic.  Every  motion  was  graceful.  His  blue 
eye  was  full  of  mirth.  I  am  not  aware  that  he  was 
intelligent  beyond  his  years  ;  but  his  gentleness, 
modesty,  wit  and  affectionate  temper,  made  him 
loved  by  all.  I  never  loved  a  companion  of  my 
youth  as  I  loved  him.  Before  he  was  eight  years 
old,  he  was  cut  down  as  the  tender  grass.  In  the 
intervals  of  suffering,  he  told  his  weeping  friends 
what  delight  he  had  taken  in  prayer,  and  in  the 
Word  of  God,  for  months  before.  He  was  sure  he 
should  go  to  that  Saviour  he  loved  ;  and  whose  glo- 
ry as  a  Saviour  from  sin,  had  been  revealed  to  his 
heart.  He  bade  them  shed  no  tears  for  him,  but 
prepare  to  follow  him  up  to  the  throne  of  the  Lamb. 
17 


194  HOME. 

It  was  strange,  some  said,  to  hear  such  a  mere 
child  talk  so  !  So  it  was,  in  Home.  He  had  been 
taught  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  while  none  knew  the 
emotions  of  his  young  heart,  and  fitted  to  be  thus 
early  transplanted  to  the  garden  of  God. 

Another  instance  at  a  later  period,  was  more 
readily  accounted  for.  A  bright  boy,  not  much 
older,  was  often  loitering  around  the  doors  at  the 
meetings  in  the  hut  of  old  George.  His  parents 
would  not  suffer  him  ^  enter.  Now  and  then  he 
crept  into  a  corner  at  an  evening  lecture.  He  was 
a  passionate  boy,  full  of  pride,  yet  with  a  warm 
heart.  None  ever  spoke  to  him  of  Christ,  in  the 
fraternal  dwelling.  But  he  learned  enough  of  the 
way  of  Life,  while  loitering  around  the  hut,  to  be 
led  by  the  Spirit  to  walk  in  it.  In  a  few  months 
his  young  mind  seemed  to  grasp  the  great  truths 
of  the  gospel  with  a  man's  vigor.  What  joy  he 
found  in  communion  with  the  Saviour!  He,  too, 
was  cut  down  in  an  hour.  The  faithful  reproofs 
of  sin  and  error,  given  on  his  dying  pillow,  roused 
more  than  one  slumbering  conscience  from  a  long 
night  of  sin.     But  God  took  him  up  to  his  home. 

The  spectacle  of  youthful  piety  is  not  now  rare 
in  Home.  And  men  see,  in  these  early  conver- 
sions to  Christ,  a  lesson  on  the  depravity  of  their 
own  hearts,  that  no  logic,  no  sophistry  can  shake. 


HOME.  195 

When  infancy  praises  God,  the  aged  sinner  has 
no  shelter,  no  excuse  for  his  life  of  sin. 

I  shall  never  forget  a  scene  in  which  one  of 
these  little  ones  that  believed  in  Christ,  was  an 
actor. 

There  was  an  old  man,  more  than  sixty  years 
of  age,  gray-headed,  his  body  bent  down  with  the 
weakness  that  sin  had  caused.  For  he  had  lived 
a  guilty,  a  criminal  life.  Trained  in  the  know- 
ledge of  the  gospel,  he  hadlthrown  away  his  early 
faith,  sold  his  Bible  for  rum,  and  avowed  himself 
an  unbeliever, — an  atheist.  His  bad  heart  was 
seared  as  with  a  hot  iron,  by  his  long  career  of 
iniquity.  He  wandered  away  from  his  home  to  a 
distant  place,  that  he  might  be  far  away  from  any 
that  knew  him.  'He  wanted  to  sin  without  re- 
proof; and  that  was  difficult,  in  the  Christian  vil- 
lage where  he  was  born  and  nurtured.  His  own 
pious  partner  reproved  him  by  her  prayers  and 
tears,  if  not  by  words.  So  he  left  his  home  and 
became  a  wanderer,  and  a  companion  of  the  vile. 

One  Sabbath  day  he  stood  at  the  door  of  a  grog- 
shop. He  had  no  money,  and  the  liquor-seller 
refused  to  supply  his  demands  for  the  poison.  He 
burst  into  a  torrent  of  oaths. 

The  little  one,  on  his  way  to  the  Sabbath  school, 
passed  by,  and  heard  the  blasphemer,     duietly 


196  HOME. 

walking  up  to  bim,  he  put  his  soft  hand  in  that  of 
the  aged  sinner,  and  said,  with  tears,  "  Please, 
Sir,  do  not  sin  so,  against  my  Saviour  !"  The 
sinner  was  melted  in  a  moment.  "What,"  said 
he,  "  shall  my  gray  hairs  be  reproved  by  this 
babe?"  That  day  found  him  in  the  house  of 
God  ;  that  night  found  him  rejoicing  in  the  for- 
giving mercy  of  his  Saviour.  Another  day,  he  was 
far  on  his  way  to  his  deserted  home,  to  cheer  his 
family  with  the  news  that  "out  of  the  mouth  of  a 
babe,  God  had  perfected  praise."  The  secret  of 
the  power  of  youthful  piety  is,  that  no  one  can 
doubt  its  entire  sincerity — its  singleness  of  aim. 
To  assume  feelings  men  do  not  possess,  and 
act  ia  character  with  such  hypocrisy,  requires 
more  steadiness  of  purpose  than  children  often 
possess.  So  that  the  impression  that  it  is  Gcrrs 
work,  can  hardly  be  resisted.  And  what  heart 
can  resist  the  simple  pleadings  of  a  child's  love  ? 
I  hardly  need  to  add,  that  in  proportion  as  spi- 
ritual faith  revived  in  Home,  the  spirit  of  benevo- 
lence towards  all  the  perishing  was  shown  also. 
Even  in  their  days  of  poverty,  the  disciples  learn- 
ed never  to  send  away  empty  those  who  called  for 
a  benefit,  whether  for  the  souls  or  bodies  of  men. 
Covetousness  departs  before  the  presence  of  the 
Saviour.     And  when  the  Lord  of  the  Sabbath  is 


HOME.  197 

honored,  the  day  of  rest  is  saved ;  the  house  of 
His  praise  is  holy,  and  his  worship  fills  the  spirit 
with  peace. 

One  other  illustration  of  the  mode,  in  which 
God  reached  the  lost,  I  must  not  omit.  Those 
who  are  not  under  the  influences  of  the  gospel 
cannot  be  expected  to  prize  them.  And  when, 
in  addition  to  their  lives  of  sin,  there  is  a  profound 
ignorance  of  the  nature  of  the  Christian  faith,  it 
is  not  strange  that  men  are  reluctant  to  pay,  to 
support  its  ministers.  There  were  multitudes  in 
Home  who  felt  thus.  No  wonder ;  of  what  ben- 
efit had  been  the  salaries  paid  to  educated  minis- 
ters 1  They  had  been  neglected,  despised,  for- 
gotten. If  they  attended  on  their  preaching,  it 
did  not  address  itself  to  their  conscious  want  as 
sinners.  The  parson  married  them  and  buried 
them,  and  that  was  all.  The  magistrate  could  do 
the  first,  just  as  well.  And  it  was  not  to  the  par- 
son's credit  that  he  spoke  a  few  words  of  consola- 
tion in  the  hour  of  woe,  but  cared  nothing  for  their 
souls  at  other  times.  There  was  one  district,  in 
the  heart  of  Home,  where  the  entire  population 
seemed  to  be  given  over  to  sin.  Hard  drinking, 
brawls,  profaneness.  Sabbath  breaking,  lewdness 
were  fearfully  rife.  There  was  not  one  Christian 
within  a  mile,  except  an  infirm,  paralytic  old  wo- 
17* 


198  HOME. 

man,  too  far  gone  towards  mental  imbecility  for 
usefulness.  One  or  two,  occasionally  wandered 
to  church,  on  a  very  pleasant  Sabbath,  to  show  a 
new  bonnet,  or  to  meet  some  one  there  for  busi- 
ness purposes.  Their  hatred  of  an  educated  min- 
istry was  only  equalled  by  their  aversion  to  sup- 
porting one.  When  our  spiritual  pastors  preach- 
ed in  the  neighborhood,  very  few  would  come 
near,  and  no  access  to  their  hearts  seemed  possi- 
ble.    The  case  was  well  nigh  hopeless. 

There  was  dissension  in  one  of  the  spiritual 
churches.  It  referred  to  matters  of  order  and 
form,  not  essential  to  a  living  faith.  Two  or  three 
withdrew  and  obtained  the  stated  labors  of  one 
who  accorded  with  them,  to  supply  their  spiritual 
wants.  But  they  could  not  support  him.  They 
were  poor  ;  he  was  poor.  But  he  had  an  enlight- 
ened understanding  and  a  warm  heart.  The  con- 
dition of  this  desolate  neighborhood  deeply  im- 
pressed him.  But  what  could  he  do?  They 
would  not  hear  him.  Like  Paul,  in  a  similar  case, 
he  determined  to  "  catch  them  by  guile."  i^c- 
customed  to  the  labors  of  the  farm,  he  hired  a 
tenement  and  a  few  acres  of  land,  and  became  a 
farmer  in  the  neighborhood.  He  "  changed 
works"  with  them,  suffered  them  to  take  the  lead 
in  conversation,  listened  patiently  to  their  follies, 


HOME,  199 

avoided  any  attnck  on  their  ignorant  prejudices: 
but  gently  and  humbly  reproved  their  sins.  The 
plain  man  who  worked  in  their  fields,  as  an  hired 
laborer,  and  who  asked  no  pay  for  preaching,  they 
were  willing  to  hear  on  the  Sabbath.  Familiar 
with  their  daily  habits  and  feelings,  he  wisely 
adapted  his  preaching  to  their  wants.  He  won 
their  attention,  their  respect,  their  love.  In  sev- 
eral instances  the  Holy  Spirit  sealed  his  work  by 
their  conversion  to  Christ.  Vice  disappeared, 
the  grog-shop  was  closed,  the  Sabbath  respected, 
the  people  flocked  to  the  house  of  prayer.  Those 
who  cared  little  for  the  word  spoken,  often  loved 
the  music  of  warm  hearts  and  cheerful  voices. 
The  familiar  talking  over  the  lessons  of  truth, 
which  he  called  the  Bible  class,  giving  them  an 
equal  chance  to  express  their  crude  and  often  er- 
roneous ideas,  won  others  still.  Before  a  year 
passed  away,  people  in  other  parts  of  Home  be- 
gan to  wonder  what  had  so  changed  this  desolate 
spot.  And  some  of  our  proudest  opposers  of  the 
gospel  began  to  frequent  the  meetings.  God  was 
there ! 

When  the  gospel  found  a  place  in  their  hearts, 
gratitude  for  spiritual  and  social  benefits  received, 
led  them  to  try  to  supply  the  temporal  wants  of 
their  teacher.     They  began  to  see  that  all  the 


200  H  O  M  E  . 

time  of  one  who  had  proved  himself  so  true  a 
friend  to  their  souls,  might  profitably  be  spent  in 
the  same  labors.  So  it  was  no  longer  a  selfish 
"  hireling"  that  they  saw  in  the  pastor,  but  one 
who  laid  them  under  weightier  obligations  than 
money  could  repay,  by  the  good  conferred  on 
them.  Then,  if  he  was  to  be  able  to  meet  their 
growing  thirst  for  knowledge,  he  must  have  time 
for  thought  and  study,  or  he  would  cease  to  be 
their  fit  guide.  So  the  reign  of  grace  and  com- 
mon sense  began  together. 


HOME.  201 


CHAPTER   XIII. 

A  century  passed — Twilight — Logic  of  the  heart — Spirit- 
ual discernment — The  "  set  time  to  favor  Zion"  come — 
The  revival — The  wise  need  teaching. 

O.vE  HUNDRED  years  had  passed  by  ;  three  gen- 
erations of  men  had  lived  and  died  and  gone  to 
the  judgment  since  the  last  general  effusion  of  the 
Spirit  of  God  to  gather  numbers  at  once  into  the 
kingdom  of  his  Son.  In  that  time,  vital  godliness 
had  declined,  and  error  usurped  the  place  of  truth, 
till  the  go:^pel  had  scarcely  a  name  to  live.  Then, 
gradually  the  grace  of  God  had  brought  salvation 
to  one  house  after  another,  till  hundreds  once 
more  loved  the  faith  of  the  fathers,  and  worship- 
ped their  fathers'  God.  The  gospel  in  its  purity 
was  again  preached  ;  the  long  night  of  stupor 
broken  np,  and  few,  very  few,  remained  so  entire- 
ly unacquainted  with  the  leading  doctrines  of  the 
cross,  that  they  could  sin  in  ignorance  of  them. 
Among  those  who  persisted  in  rejecting  the  gospel, 
there  were  very  few  who  had  not,  often  without 
being  aware  of  it,  imbibed  some  of  its  ideas. 
Religious  knowledge  had  increased,  all  admitted. 


202  HOME. 

The  teachers  of  error  no  longer  avoided  the  use 
of  the  words  that  expressed  sound  doctritie.  They 
even  talked  and  prayed  for  a  "revival  of  religion," 
and  began  to  mark  more  carefully  a  distinction 
between  the  worldly  moral  man  and  the  true  dis- 
ciple. No  matter  if  the  difference  was  not  clear- 
ly defined ;  still  it  was  a  great  advance  to  admit 
that  there  was  one ;  and  to  have  even  teachers 
urge  men  to  become  Christians,  and  live  holy  lives, 
who  had  long  been  satisfied  with  a  mere  formal 
profession  of  faith  and  outward  morality ;  nay, 
had  long  been  taught  to  believe  that  no  change 
of  heart  was  needed  by  any  but  the  vicious. 

Their  zeal  for  every  form  of  social  reformation 
became  marked.  Their  labors  to  make  men  be- 
nevolent in  life,  if  not  very  successful,  still  did 
some  good.  For  the  warm  sympathies  elicited, 
and  the  habits  of  right  action  formed,  brought 
some  minds  under  the  control  of  the  principles  of 
holy  living.  The  struggle  to  be  less  selfish,  shows 
men  that  there  is  deeper  depravity  within  them 
than  they  had  been  conscious  of  They  are  led 
to  pray  for  help,  first,  and  then  for  mercy.  The 
consciousness  of  guilt,  the  feeling  that  they  do 
not  deserve  the  good  they  receive,  or  the  mercy 
they  ask,  leads  them  to  ask  in  the  name  of  Jesus. 
Their  sense  of  dependence  on  him  for  peace  of 


HOME.  203 

conscience  gradually  makes  him  the  object  of 
worship, 't)f  adoring  love.  Then  the  glories  of 
his  divine  character,  as  the  revealed  and  reveal- 
ing Deity  are  seen,  and  they  become  spiritual 
worshippers  of  *'  Him  that  sitteth  upon  the  throne, 
and  of  the  Lamb."  The  ideas  of  the  reasoning 
intellect  may  or  may  not  keep  pace  with  this  logic 
of  the  heart.  But  some  progress  is  secured  al- 
ways. The  need  of  prayers  becomes  an  admit- 
ted fact.  The  teaching  of  the  Holy  Spirit  is 
sought,  is  found.  So  holy  affections  correct  the 
faith,  and  correct,  ideal  faith  purifies  and  gives 
power  to  holy  affections  towards  God  and  man. 
Another  result  of  this  twilight  state  is,  that 
numbers  are  led  to  unite  with  the  churches.  The 
pastors  become  solemn  in  their  preaching,  arouse 
many  consciences,  and  excite  emotion  in  many 
hearts.  Their  intellectual  views  of  truth  are  not 
clear  or  correct  enough  to  lead  most  of  these 
awakened  persons,  at  once,  to  the  Saviour.  They 
have  a  sense  of  sin,  more  or  less  strong  ;  a  feeling 
of  their  obligation  to  holy  living,  in  the  same  pro- 
portion ;  and  they  pray  for  mercy  ;  they  become 
active  in  such  forms  of  doing  good  to  men  as  are 
set  before  them  as  duty.  This  secures  some  de- 
gree of  peace  of  mind.  It  is  peace  derived  from 
religious  sources.  It  is  new  to  them.  The  pas- 
tor bids  them  hope,  believe,  rejoice,  and  openly 


204  HOME.  \ 

profess  their  Christian  faith.  United  with  the 
church,  they  sometimes  continue  to  make  pro- 
gress, sometimes  become  dead.  If  the  work  of 
grace,  or  renewed  and  holy  affections  is  really 
begun,  there  is  progress  in  experience  and  in 
ideal  views  of  divine  truth.  If  there  are  no  gra- 
cious affections;  if  it  has  been  merely  the  awak- 
ened conscience,  checking,  for  a  moment,  the 
power  of  a  selfish  heart,  the  result  is  blindness 
and — what  is  called  by  a  strange  misnomer — 
spiritual  pride  !  It  is  a  satisfaction  with  ourselves, 
and  a  feeling  of  security,  based  on  supposed  at- 
tainments in  divine  life  which  have  no  reality. 
The  pride  of  the  heart  is  not  subdued;  sin  may 
be  refined,  but  it  reigns,  still,  in  undiminished 
power.  I  know  such  "  spiritual  pride"  may  exist, 
at  times,  when  the  heart  has  really  felt  the  power 
of  divine  grace ;  but  it  is  the  habitual  state  of 
mind  in  the  unconverted  professor  of  religion,  so 
long  as  he  remains  unconscious  of  his  want  of 
true  piety.  Would  God,  that  none  but  the  teach- 
ers of  error  were  found  in  this  state  of  twilight! 
Do  not  many,  who  intellectually  receive  the  truth, 
equally  fail  to  mark  the  difference  between  the 
awakened  and  the  converted  ?  Between  the  work 
of  the  conscience,  and  the  effects  of  holy  love? 
The  alarms  and  remorse  of  a  guilty  conscience 
ma,y  c^ase^  and  c^lm   and  peace  follow,  without 


HOME.  205 

the  existence  of  any  holy  affections.  How  many, 
in  that  state,  are  encouraged  to  hope  they  are 
Christians !  How  many  mistake  the  hopes  and 
peace  that  they  thus  obtain,  for  those  which  arise 
in  the  pardoned  man's  bosom  !  The  rule  of  duty 
is  this : — encourage  no  man  to  hope  he  is  convert- 
ed and  forgiven,  till  the  existence  of  holy  affec- 
tions appears  to  be  morally  certain.  Men  are 
ready  enough  to  hope,  to  build  on  a  false  founda- 
tion, without  prompting.  But  the  more  thorough- 
ly they  are  tested,  in  the  outset,  the  better  for 
their  stability,  if  they  are  Christians;  the  better 
for  them  and  for  the  church,  if  they  are  not. 

Without  such  skill  to  "  discern  between  the 
righteous  and  the  wicked,"  no  soundness  of  creed 
or  forms  of  worship  will  prevent  the  church  from 
being  filled  up  with  worldly  persons.  The  pastor 
should  be,  not  merely  converted,  but  a  matured 
Christian.  "  Not  a  novice,"  because  he  is  unfit 
for  the  duties  of  the  calling.  Zeal  may  abound, 
he  may  desire  to  do  good,  his  heart  may  be  right, 
but  still  he  be  very  unfit  for  the  work.  I  suppose 
none  will  doubt  that  our  Saviour  was  Jitled  to 
preach  the  gospel  at  ten  years  of  age.  He  waited 
till  he  was  thirty,  before  he  began.  It  was  not 
for  want  of  holiness  or  knowledge,  or  power  to 
read  men's  hearts.  The  example  is  worth  the 
18 


206  HOME. 

attention  of  those  who  think  and  say  that  "  half 
of  life  is  wasted  if  a  man  does  not  begin  to  preach 
till  thirty."  The  example  may  not  be  binding, 
but  is  safe. 

"  The  set  time  to  favor  Zion,"  had  come. 
Why  1  Because  the  way  of  the  Lord  had  been 
thoroughly  prepared.  The  truth  was  known.  Its 
power  over  the  conscience  was  generally  establish- 
ed. Its  general  obligations  were  no  longer  dispu- 
ted. The  power  o{  sympathy  could  now  act  on 
a  multitude,  at  once.  So  that,  when  the  Holy 
Spirit  began  to  awaken  a  man,  every  external  in- 
fluence was  no  longer  arrayed  against  his  conver- 
sion. It  was  no  more  an  effort  to  make  flowers 
bloom  in  the  desert ;  it  was  to  cultivate  fruit  in  a 
garden.  Holy  living  had  settled  the  question,  in 
all  minds,  of  the  power  of  the  gospel  to  transform 
the  human  character,  and  make  it  lovely,  in  every 
condition  of  life.  The  conflict  was  now,  chiefly, 
the  direct  issue  between  the  admitted  claims  of 
Christ,  and  the  love  of  sin  in  the  heart. 

Now  the  God  of  our  fathers  remembered  his 
gracious  covenant ;  and  the  prayers  of  many  gen- 
erations came  up  before  him,  as  sweet  incense ; 
and  he  sent  down  his  Holy  Spirit  in  genial  showers. 

There  is  sometimes  a  marked  incident  to  des- 
ignate the  visible  commencement  of  such  displays 
of  grace.     It  may  be  a  sudden  death ;    a  new 


HOME.  '207 

preacher,  the  conversion  of  an  old  man,  or  a  child, 
or  the  death  of  a  sinner.  Here  it  was  not  so. 
The  faithful  pastors  diligently  pursued  the  round 
of  labor,  teaching  the  young,  warning  the  old, 
comforting  the  afflicted,  succoring  the  tempted. 
One  day,  without  the  least  previous  indication  of 
change,  as  a  pastor  was  at  work  in  his  garden,  a 
young  man  approached  and  desired  to  converse 
with  him  alone.  He  was  intelligent,  moral,  ac- 
quainted with  the  truth,  but  full  of  high  hopes  of 
worldly  honor. 

"Have  you  anything  very  particular  to  say? 
you  see  I  am  freeing  my  garden  from  its  weeds." 
There  had  been  no  conversion  for  some  time. 
The  pastor  expected  an  invitation  to  attend  a 
wedding.  But  as  he  spoke,  he  glanced  a  second 
time  at  the  young  man's  face,  and  saw  his  lips 
quiver,  and  his,  eyes  red  with  weeping.  Trem- 
bling himself  with  new  emotions  he  said,  "come 
into  my  study ;"  and  led  the  vi^ay.  The  young 
man's  heart  was  full.  He  wanted  only  to  know 
how  he  should  find  salvation  from  sin.  They 
talked,  they  wept,  they  knelt,  they  prayed ;  and 
the  young  man  arose,  and  went  down  to  his  house 
justified  ;  for  the  Saviour  was  revealed  to  him. 

The  pastor  returned  to  his  garden  ;  but  in  vain 
he  tried  to  pluck  the  weeds ;  his  heart  was  too 


2i)8  HOME. 

full,  "  Is  God,  in  very  deed,  in  our  midst,  and  I 
knew  it  notf 

That  night  there  was  a  meeting  for  prayer  in  a 
remote  corner  of  the  town.  The  pastor  attended, 
and  found  every  seat  filled,  every  eye  attentive, 
every  face  expressive  of  some  unwonted  emotion. 
His  words  of  exhortation  were  answered  by  silent 
tears,  from  more  than  one  who  never  before  wept 
for  sin.  An  old  man,  not  a  disciple,  when  the 
meeting  was  over,  rose  and  asked  that  Christians 
would  pray  for  him.  He  had  long  lived  in  sin, 
but  now,  he  said,  he  knew  not  why,  he  felt  a  deep 
anxiety  to  learn  if  there  was  a  way  for  him  to  be 
saved.  Perhaps  the  pastor  would  be  willing  to 
preach  there  the  next  evening,  if  he  would  come 
down  for  him,  in  his  waggon?  The  pastor  joy- 
fully assented.  Some  others  sought  to  speak  to 
him,  and  an  hour  was  passed  in  imparting  coun- 
sel to  those  who  were  more  or  less  awakened. 

The  pastor  returned  home,  deeply  humbled.  It 
was  not  that  he  was  conscious  of  any  want  of  fidel- 
ity to  his  duties.  But  he  had  labored  without  much 
fruit.  Others,  too,  had  labored  there  before  him, 
and  called  it  a  hard  field,  because  so  little  visible 
fruit  followed  their  toils.  But  now  God  had  come. 
Others  sowed,  he  was  to  shout  the  harvest  home! 

As  he  entered  his  dwelling,  his  wife  remarked, 
"  Who  do  you  think  has  been  here  ?     It  is  Doctor 


HOME.  209 

,  and  he  is  deeply  convinced  of  his  sins.     I 

told  him  you  would  see  him  before  you  slept,  if 
you  were  not  too  much  exhausted.  I  hope  you 
will  go;   it  is  only  nine." 

The  house  was  a  mile  distant  in  another  course. 
So  here,  in  a  single  day,  were  proofs  of  the  pres. 
ence  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  these  distant  sections 
of  the  town.  A  few  days  more  showed  that  it 
was  so  everywhere.  As  God  had  scattered  the 
earlier  fruits  of  faith  in  all  parts  of  the  place,  that 
the  word  of  life  might  be  held  forth  before  all 
eyes ;  so  now,  in  every  part,  the  blessings  follow- 
ed. The  greater  number,  however,  were  found 
in  those  districts  where  pastoral  neglect,  in  other 
days,  had  left  whole  neighborhoods  to  perish  with- 
out the  gospel. 

In  every  place  where  the  truth  was  preached, 
the  following  Sabbaths  witnessed  the  presence  of 
the  Holy  One.  The  means  of  instruction  were 
multiplied,  to  meet  the  wants  of  the  people,  but 
not  so  as  to  interfere  with  the  discharge  of  the 
ordinary  duties  of  life.  Such  a  course  is  almost 
always  wise.  The  object  of  the  pastor  is  to  make 
men  something  more  and  better  than  meeting- 
goers.  They  are  to  be  every-day  Christians. 
And  a  religious  life  begun  with  an  attendance  on 
meetings  every  day  or  night  for  three  months,  is 
18* 


210 


HOME, 


not  the  most  likely  to  prove  a  life  of  holy  useful- 
ness. Besides,  such  a  course  is  quite  as  likely  to 
rouse  more  feeling  than  thought,  and  to  result  in 
the  substitution  of  love  for  meetings,  for  the  love 
of  Christ.  There  is  no  universal  rule,  in  such 
cases  ;  but  the  safest  general  one  is,  not  to  hinder 
the  discharge  of  men's  daily  duties,  any  further 
that  a  regard  to  the  state  of  individual  minds 
makes  it  needful.  And  much  observation  has  con- 
vinced me,  that,  with  very  few  exceptions  indeed, 
there  is  no  gain  in  having  awakened  persons  lay 
aside  their  ordinary  avocations,  any  further  than 
their  own,  irrepressible  anguish  may,  at  times,  com- 
pel it.  The  storm  is  more  impressive;  but,  as  a 
matter  of  taste,  I  prefer  the  gentle  rain.  It  is  quite 
as  efficient  in  covering  the  fields  with  rich  harvests. 
It  is  important,  too,  to  avoid  one  frequent  ten- 
dency noticed  in  revivals  :  viz.,  a  tendency  to  make 
religion  consist  in  emotions  only.  Thus  many 
are  filled  with  hopes  and  joys,  without  changing, 
in  any  material  respect,  the  principles  of  their 
daily  life.  Their  religion  is  for  Sundays  and  holi- 
days ;  for  special  occasions,  for  sickness,  for 
death.  But  their  business,  their  commerce  with 
mankind,  their  social  life,  are  conducted  on  the 
same  principles  of  worldly  prudence  and  proprie- 
ty as  before,  with  little  or  no  infusion  of  benevo- 
lence or  self-denial.      They  pray   according  to 


HOME.  Sll 

Scripture,  and  "  sell  lumber,"  as  they  did  before. 
The  severing  of  religion  from  life,  fills  np  our 
churches  ivith  unconverted  persons,  just  as  surely, 
and  even  more  rapidly,  than  those  errors  that 
wrought  such  evil  in  the  days  of  our  fathers. 

The  work  of  grace  in  Home  went  on,  not  with- 
out some  excitement,  but  with  little  opposition,  for 
many  months.  A  few  were  converted  who  had 
before  this,  had  little  knowledge  of  the  iruth. 
But  the  most  of  the  converts  were  those  who  were 
already  ripe  for  the  harvest.  Such  of  the  Sabbath 
scholars  as  had  not  been  already  acquainted  with 
Christ,  were  among  the  earliest  to  receive  him. 
Then  the  steady  attendants  on  worship,  and  then 
others,  less  constantly  under  the  influences  of 
grace,  though  still  enough  so,  to  show  them  their 
hearts  were  brought  nigh  to  the  blood  that  clean- 
sed them  from  sin.  There  were  more  young  men, 
than  persons  of  any  other  class;  but  every  age 
supplied  some  who  had  become  children  of  God. 
Lisping  infancy  sung  God's  praises,  and  gray 
hairs  bowed  before  the  Son  of  God.  So,  too, 
persons  of  every  grade  of  intellect  and  every  de- 
gree of  knowledge,  were  united  to  the  common 
Saviour  by  the  same  bonds  of  faith  and  love. 
Brotherly  love,  humility,  charity  abounded. 

Such  scenes  had  long  been  unknown  in  Home. 
How  did  the  hearts  of  a  few  rejoice ;    a  few  of 


212  HOME. 

those  who  thirty  years  before  had  lived  in  the 
darkness  that  might  be  felt,  without  sympathy, 
without  social  prayer,  without  a  faithful  ministry 
or  any  means  of  grace,  save  such  as  the  solitude 
of  a  worldly  church  may  supply !  ^rhey  read, 
they  prayed,  they  wept  alone !  And  now  God 
had  given  a  great  company  the  saving  faith  of  the 
gospel ;  and  living  churches  walked  in  gospel 
order  and  purity. 

It  is  yet  too  soon  to  speak  of  the  matured  results 
of  such  a  work.  Its  subjects  are  all  living.  The 
instruction  of  the  young,  the  family  altar,  works 
of  benevolence  and  charity,  all  the  common  duties 
of  religion  and  life  are  faithfully  performed.  The 
first  fruit  is  holy.  The  ripened  fruit  will  be  so. 
Still  it  is  better  to  praise  the  dead  than  the  living. 
Their  account  is  sealed  up ;  their  sins  and  trials 
are  ended;  their  reward  is  begun;  and  their 
works  follow  them.  Of  these  we  can  judge.  The 
living  may  be  even  more  holy ;  but  they  may  also 
be  the  "  sounding  brass,  or  the  tinkling  cymbal," 
a  glittering  show,  or  a  pleasant  sound.  We  should 
judge  ourselves,  rather  than  each  other.  Then 
shall  we  not  be  condemned  with  the  wicked. 

The  work  of  grace  had  reached  the  limits  of 
the  circle  of  prepared  minds.  Then  it  ceased  to 
draw  new  persons  into  its  waves.  Here  were  an 
hundred  new  and  tender  plants  to  be  nurtured  and 


HOME,  213 

matured  for  life  and  glory.  Every  individual  mind 
needs  watching,  care,  instruction  adapted  wisely 
to  its  wants.  It  is  a  work  of  infinite  moment. 
Their  usefulness  depends  on  it.  If  they  are  train- 
ed to  holy  living,  and  the  fruits  of  grace  abound 
in  them,  very  soon  another,  and  perhaps  a  larger 
class  of  minds  will  be  brought  within  the  control 
of  sympathy,  and  the  laws  of  the  mipd  and  the 
grace  of  the  Spirit,  will  unite  in  bringing  many 
more  sons  and  daughters  unto  glory.  In  due 
season  the  laborers  shall  reap,  if  they  faint  not. 

One  thing  was  worthy  of  remark.  All  men, 
when  awakened,  are  like  children,  needing  instruc- 
tion. No  matter  how  well  acquainted  they  may  be 
with  the  truths  of  religion,  they  need  sympathy  and 
guidance  as  much  as  if  they  had  never  heard  the 
way  of  life.  They  are  to  learn  over  again  all  the 
circle  of  divine  truths,  with  reference  to  the  emo- 
tions of  the  heart.  Their  precious  familiarity  with 
truth,  makes  it  easy  to  learn,  easy  to  guide  them  ; 
but  a  guide  they  need,  and  they  are  conscious  of  it. 

It  was  remarkable  to  see  how  men  of  strong  in- 
tellect and  high  standing,  showed  the  honor  they 
had  secretly  paid  to  eminent  piety,  when  far  from 
it  themselves.  When  they  were  awakened,  they 
did  not  always  seek  the  counsel  of  the  educated,  or 
of  the  pastors.     But  they  sent  for  the  holy  and 


214  HOME. 

humble,  those  whose  life  was  evidently  a  life  of 
faith.  Their  counsel,  not  always  clothed  in  classic 
language,  they  received  with  the  simplicity  of  little 
children.  They  wanted,  not  the  logic  of  the  strong 
mind,  or  the  poetry  and  philosophy  of  religion, 
but  its  simple  elements,  such  as  an  huaible  heart 
must  know,  and  which,  most  surely,  resulted  from 
the  teaching  of  the  Spirit.  This  was  especially 
noticed  in  some  literary  persons  who  had  been 
willing  votaries  of  error.  They  seemed  more 
anxious  to  avoid  a  second  deception,  than  even  to 
be  saved  !  Fervent  piety,  a  heart  that  had  known 
sin  and  the  Saviour,  and  a  mind  honest  to  utter 
its  convictions,  were  what  they  sought.  Their 
choice  of  a  counsellor  showed  how  well  they  had 
marked  the  power  of  the  gospel,  at  a  time  when 
they  denied  its  truths.  Convinced  of  sin,  their 
intellectual  errors  had  no  power  over  them. 
"  Don't  argue  with  me,"  said  one,  *'  about  the 
atonement.  I  can  out  argue  you.  But  I  find  I 
am  a  lost  sinner,  and  need  pardon.  How  shall  I 
obtain  it?"  When  the  mind  is  in  such  a  state,  it 
is  an  easy  task  to  point  to  the  Lamb  of  God  that 
takes  away  sin. 

The  work  of  grace  had  employed  the  hands 
and  hearts  of  all  who  loved  Christ,  in  the  different 
sects  of  true  Christians.     Love  had  broken  down 


HOME.  215 

all  barriers  of  their  diversities  of  creed.  To  win 
souls  to  the  cross  of  Christ  was  their  joy.  And 
it  was  pleasant  to  see,  that  there  was  no  strife  for 
the  converts.  Quietly  they  were  allowed  to  pro- 
fess their  faith  wherever  their  tastes  or  views 
might  lead  them.  A  few  united  with  the  old 
churches,  thus  increasing  the  amount  of  spiritual 
life  in  them,  and  hastening  the  day  of  their  return 
to  the  faith  of  our  fathers.  Surrounded  by  living 
Christians,  whose  pure  faith  and  holy  life  were 
everywhere  known,  there  was  less  danger  that 
these  should  be- injured  by  mingling  with  the 
worldly  church.  The  degree  of  life  within  and 
the  holy  influence  from  without,  would  keep  their 
feet  from  the  paths  of  sin.  Their  growth  in 
grace  might  be  less  rapid,  but  it  was  not  likely  to 
cease.  Some,  too,  of  the  sons  of  Home  remem- 
ber and  rejoice,  that  the  old  churches  still  stand, 
even  in  the  view  of  the  civil  law,  on  the  basis  of 
the  old,  evangelical  covenants.  They  have  been 
laid  aside,  forgotten ;  but  no  creed  of  error  ha^ 
ever  been  adopted  ;  no  formal  rejection  of  the 
truth  ever  occurred.  One  day  the  old  founda- 
tions will  again  be  built  upon,  with  living  stones, 
polished  after  the  similitude  of  a  palace. 


216  HOME 


CHAPTER   XIV. 

"  THE  EAELY  LOVED,  THE  EARLY  LOST." 

I.  The  Cousins. 

"  Wait  for  ine,  cousin !  You  are  not  going 
home  alone,  through  the  woods." 

"  Oh,  never  fear  for  me  !  Woods  ?  Why  here 
is  only  a  glorious  bower,  for  more  than  a  quarter  of 
a  mile  !  These  old  button-wood  trees,  and  the  oaks 
and  walnuts  beyond,  what  a  perfect  arch  of  living 
green  they  make,  as  far  as  the  eye  can  reach  ! 
And  then  the  rest  of  the  way  is  through  the  open 
pasture,  and  fields,  till  I  get  close  to  the  back  gate 
of  our  garden.  So  I  don't  need  you,  at  all.  And 
then,  the  stars  shine  so  bright,  through  every  open- 
ing of  this  green  canopy,  that  there  will  be  no 
need  of  lamps  to  light  me.  I  shall  run,  too,  like 
a  deer.  I — "  Something  very  much  like  a  kiss 
stopped  all  further  utterance. 

I  am  not  going  to  v/rite  a  love  story,  not  a  word 
of  it,  though  it  begins  with  a  kiss  !  The  young  pair 
were  cousins,  and  orphans.     They  had  been  play- 

f 


H  O  M  E  .  217 

mates  from  infancy.  From  the  time  when  they 
braided  their  hair  together  so  that  the  scissors  had 
to  be  used  to  separate  them,  till  now,  they  had 
shared  every  joy,  hope,  every  little  grief,  every 
present.  1  don't  believe  they  had  many  thoughts 
that  were  not  common  property.  A  secret  neither 
could  keep  without  each  other's  help  !  From  the 
day  when  her  tongue  first  could  lisp,  "  tosen,  tiss 
me,"  till  the  sad  day  when  death  silenced  that 
sweet  voice,  they  never  met  or  parted  without  the 
kiss  of  affection.  As  for  loving  each  other  ;  why 
they  never  did  anything  else  !  But  it  never  oc- 
curred to  either  of  them  to  take  time  to  say  so. 
They  were  both  orphans,  from  early  infancy.  As 
they  grew  up,  that  linked  them  together  more 
closely.  They  were  cousins,  friends,  brother  and 
sister,  everything  to  each  other,  but  lovers. 

Their  first  letters  were  written  to  each  other; 
and  in  every  little  absence  they  had  been  faiMiful 
correspondents.  Not  a  movement  of  the  lip  of 
each,  but  was  told  to  the  other.  So  they  were  a 
model  o^  cousinly  love  ? 

He  had  been  absent  a  few  months,  and  had 
found  the  Saviour,  Just  how  they  had  been  attend- 
ing a  social  meeting  in  the  dear  old  house  where 
so  many  happy  hours  of  childhood  were  passed  to- 
gether.' He  had  been  telling  his  youthful  associates 
19 


218  HOME. 

of  the  love  of  Christ,  and  exhorting  them  to  flee  to 
the  same  refuge  for  the  guilty.  Her  eyes  had  been 
filled  with  tears  more  than  once.  Indeed,  tho'  he 
spoke  to  others,  every  word  was  meant  for  her,  as 
much  as  if  no  other  had  been  there.  It  was  a 
matter  of  course,  that  he  should  walk  home  with 
her.  And  it  was  quite  plain  that  all  her  talking 
about  this  "  glorious  grove,"  the  "  stars,"  and 
'*  running  like  a  deer,"  was  only  to  hide  her  emo- 
tion. It  was  the  first  feeling  she  had  ever  wished 
to  hide  from  her  cousin ! 

They  walked  down  the  lane,  arched  over  with 
the  noble  shade  trees,  and  the  thick  grove  beyond. 
He  was  trying  to  persuade  her  to  become  a  Chris- 
tian that  very  night.  He  hardly  doubted  of  his 
success ;  it  was  so  easy  to  love  Christ !  Besides, 
when  had  they  ever  had  one  separate  joy  ? 

And  what  was  the  feeling  she  wished  to  hide? 
It  was  a  sorrow  that  her  cousin  had  become  a 
Christian  !  Not  that  the  fact  grieved  her  ;  oh  no  ! 
For  the  world  she  would  not  have  had  it  otherwise. 
But,  now,  he  had  feelings,  hopes,  joys  in  which  she 
did  not  share  1  He  had  been  imbibing  the  truths 
of  the  gospel,  and  received  them  in  love;  while  she 
had  learned  to  mingle  much  error  with  the  same 
truths,  and  the  truths  had  not  power  over  her  heart. 


HOME.  219 

It  seemed  to  cut  asunder  the  love  that  had  grown 
up  with  them  from  infancy. 

II.  Christ  the  best  friend. 

A  few  sentences  of  their  conversation  will  show 
its  import.     Their  frankness  was  not  lost. 

"  Oh  cousin,  how  many  times  have  I  read  every 
one  of  your  letters  over !  It  was  just  like  corning 
home  again,  and  sitting  or  walking  with  you  in 
these  old  woods." 

"  And  I  have  read  yours,  too.  And  I  always 
took  delight  in  them  till — " 

**  Till  what,  dear  cousin?" 

"  Why,  till  that  letter  about  loving  Christ  more 
than  all  earthly  friends.  It  seemed  as  though  re- 
ligion was  making  you  unnatural." 

"  Oh  no !  But  let  us  sit  down  on  the  rock  under 
this  nut-tree,  and  talk  about  it.  Stop  till  I  spread 
my  handkerchief.  There !  So  you  think  it  un- 
natural ?" 

"  Yes  !  I  do  admire  and  reverence  God  for  his 
greatness,  wisdom  and  power ;  and  I  feel  some- 
times very  grateful  love  for  his  goodness  to  me 
and  to  all  his  creatures.  But — he  is  so  great,  and 
so  out  of  sight,  that  I  can't  feel  such  warm,  hearty 
love  as — " 

"  As  we  feel  for  each  other,  cousin !  Well,  look 


220  HOME. 

at  it.  Did  you  feel  the  same  affection  for  me, 
hundreds  of  miles  off,  as  you  do  now,  as  we  sit 
under  this  dear  old  tree,  where  we  have  passed 
so  many  happy  hours  1" 

"  Oh  yes,  and  more  too  !  It  will  make  you  vain 
to  tell  you  how  much  1  love  you  !" 

**  Dear  cousin,  thank  you  !  But  how  much  less 
we  used  to  think  of  God,  than  of  each  other  !  Be- 
cause God  was  invisible,  we  allowed  Him  to  pass 
from  our  thoughts,  exxept  occasionally  ;  though 
every  flower  we  plucked,  every  blade  of  grass, 
every  leaf  in  these  old  woods  has  marks  of  his 
constant  presence.  *  In  him  we  live  and  move,  and 
have  our  being.'  And  then  his  character  is  cer- 
tainly far  more  worthy  of  love  than  earthly  objects 
can  be  ;  is  it  not?" 

"  Yes,  but  it  is  so  exalted  ;  so  majestic.  I  feel 
lost,  or  else  terrified,  when  I  think  of  him  in  all 
his  wisdom  and  holiness.  Besides,  most  of  His 
choicest  blessings  come  to  me  through  his  crea- 
tures. And  it  seems  as  though,  in  loving  them, 
I  was  grateful  to  Him." 

"  Ah,  cousin,  so  I  felt  once.  God  was  afar  off. 
I  believe  we  agreed  perfectly,  the  last  time  we 
talked  this  over,  at  least  in  our  feelings.  But  look 
at  the  command;  '  thou  shall  love  the  Lord  thy 
God  with  all  thy  heart.'  Does  not  this  mean  warm 
affection,  like  ours  for  our  friends,  only  stronger 


HOME.  221 

and  purer?"     **  It  seems  so  ;  but  I  can't/ecZ  it." 
"  Does  not  that  very  thing  show  you  the  need  of 
the  Mediator  ?     When  this  great,  invisible,  per- 
fect God,  whom  no  man,  or  angel  has  seen  or  can 
see,  puts  on  our  nature,  and  reveals  himself  in  Je- 
sus Christ,  our  friend,  who  loved  and  died  for  us  ; 
can  we  not  love  him  with  perfect  love?     Is  not 
personal  affection  for  God  in  Christ  easy?    Or  at 
least,  it  is  possible  to  love  perfectly  one  who  has 
all  the  sympathies  of  our  nature,  and  still  in  them 
all,  shows  every  attribute  of  God.     *  In  him,'  our 
loving,    suffering,  dying   Saviour,    *  dwelleth    all 
the  fulness  of  the  Godhead  bodily.'     True,  he  has 
passed  into  the  heavens,  and  sits  on  his  throne  of 
infinite  power  and  glory.     But  our  own  nature  is 
enthroned  there.     1   know  personal  affection  for 
the  invisible  God  is  impossible.    But  not  for  '  God 
manifest  in  the  flesh.'  Him  we  may  love  with  all  the 
passionate  ardor  of  our  natures.     We  are  just  as 
sure  of  his  sympathy,  as  you  are  of  mine ;  and  yet 
we  repose  on  him  as  the  great  I  Am."     "I  see 
that  it  is  so.   Is  that  what  you  meant  by  the  '  Dei- 
ty of  Christ,'  in  your  letter  ?  I  read  all  your  argu- 
ments, and  thought  I  could  answer  most  of  them. 
But  this  is  so  reasonable  !     Why  it  is  just  what 
we  need  to  bring  God  to  us  ;  or  rather  to  bring  us 
to  Him,  as  you  would  say." 
19* 


222  H  O  M  E  . 

"  Now  is  not  such  a  friend,  one  who  teaches  us 
truth,  opens  life  to  us,  even  dies  for  our  sins,  offers 
to  secure  our  pardon,  to  help  us  overcome  our 
sinful  hearts,  and  to  share  with  us  his  glory  which 
he  had  with  the  Father  before  the  world  (kosmion, 
creation)  was;  is  he  not  to  be  loved  far  more 
warm  It/ ih^n  any  earthly  friend  ?  And  is  it  not 
very  sinful  in  us  not  to  love  him  so  ?  Oh,  cousin, 
give  him  your  whole  heart !  If  we  are  true  to  the 
higher  laws  of  our  nature,  it  must  be  anything  but 
'  unnatural'  so  to  love  God  in  Christ." 

"T  will  try,  nay,  it  seems  as  if  Icould,  without 
trying  much  !     Good  night,  cousin." 

III.  The  enmity  of  the  heart. 

The  next  evening  they  met  around  the  old  fire- 
side. The  evening  passed  away  in  cheerful  talk, 
intermingled  with  such  religious  discussion  as  was 
likely  to  rise,  where  nearly  all  were  indifferent  to, 
or  did  not  believe  the  gospel.  The  cousins,  with 
another  sister,  were  left  alone.     She  began  with, 

*'  I  find  It  is  not  so  easy  to  love  Christ,  so  warm- 
ly, after  all.  I  see  he  is  glorious,  but  my  heart 
seems  dead.  Why  don't  I  feel  towards  him  as 
towards  you  and  Helen  ?" 

"  Do  you  remember  my  letter  about  the  enmity 
of  the  natural  heart   against  God  ?"     She  replied 


HOME.  223 

with  some  tears,  "  Yes,  cousin ;  it  was  the  only 
unkind  thing  I  ever  received  from  you  !  To  tell 
me  I  hated  God  !  It  made  ine  shudder.  I  never 
had  such  a  feeling  in  my  heart  in  my  life.  Helen 
and  I  both  cried  about  it;  and  mother  was  so  an- 
gry, she  said  1  shouldn't  answer  it." 

"  You  did,  cousin  !  I  hope  you  did  not  disobey 
your  mother,  in  doing  so." 

*'Oh,  no;  but  mother  thought  it  was  just  like 
calling  me  a  heathen,  or  a  great  criminal.  What 
did  you  mean  by  it?" 

"  You  said  last  night  it  seemed  very  easy  to  love 
God  in  Christ.  Did  you  pray  to  him,  when  you 
came  home?" 

**  Yes,  and  at  first,  it  seemed  delightful;  but 
then  in  a  few  moments  he  seemed  to  be  just  as  far 
off  as  the  Invisible  God ;  and  my  heart  would  not 
feel  love.     I  cannot  understand  myself" 

*'  Perhaps  I  can  help  you.  Have  you  not  been 
my  companion  from  infancy,  sharing  all  our  joys 
and  sorrows  together  ?  Now  if  you  had  such  want 
of  right  feeling  in  your  heart  towards  me,  as  you 
complain  of  towards  God,  what  would  be  true  of 
you?  Could  you  be  said  to  love  me?  or  would 
it  be  '  she  hates  him  V  "  "  It  would  not  be  love, 
certainly." 

"  Has  not  God  been  present  with  you  in  every 


224  HOME. 

moment,  from  your  birth,  in  all  the  good  of  your 
life,  in  every  breath  ?  Has  he  not  even  revealed 
his  glory,  his  self-denying  love,  in  his  dying  Son, 
on  purpose  to  draw  your  heart  to  him  ?  Does  he 
not  offer  you  infinite  blessings,  through  the  Sa- 
viour's blood  and  intercession  1  Now  if  you  do 
not  feel  the  warmest  love  for  him,  what  sort  of  a 
heart  have  you  ?" 

She  wept  freely,  but  still  urged,  *'  I  see  my  heart 
must  be  very  wicked ;  still  I  never  was  conscious 
oi  hating  God,  I  was  always  grateful  to  him,  rev- 
erenced  him,   and  admired  his  character,  tho'  I 
could  not  feel  personal  affection  for  him." 
"  Do  you  hate  the  emperor  of  China?" 
"  What  a  question  !     You  are  making  sport  of 
me,  instead  of  arguing  or  explaining  the  matter." 
"  I  never  was  farther  from  mirth  in  my  life,  dear 
cousin.     My  whole  heart  is  full  of  desire  to  save 
your  soul  from  sin.     But  why  do  you  not  hate  the 
Chinese  monarch  ?  He  has  done  neither  good  nor 
evil  to  you!    He  never  crossed  your  wishes.  God 
has  never  crossed  them.    He  loads  you  with  bless- 
ings.    Your  cultivated  mind  sees  his  excellence; 
but  your  heart  does  not  respond  with  warm  affec- 
tion.   This  is  a  bad  beginning.    But  look  further. 
Does  John  Sanders  love  his  mother?" 

"  You  are  very  queer  to-night,  cousin !  Why  you 


HOME.  225 

know  he  kicked  her  out  of  the  house  in  a  drunk- 
en fit,  only  three  nights  ago." 

*'Yet  he  owes  that  mother  uniform  and  con- 
stant obedience,  as  her  son.  Is  not  his  unfilial  con- 
duct a  proof  of  enmity  ?"  ''  It  proves  a  bad  heart, 
at  least."  "  How  much  greater  are  your  obligations 
to  obey  our  heavenly  Father?  Yet,  his  very  first 
commandment,  to  love  him  with  all  your  heart, 
which  is  the  basis  of  every  other,  you  admit  you 
have  not  obeyed.  Besides;  have  you  ever  tried  to 
obey  him?  I  do  not  mean  to  avoid  open  wicked- 
ness; but  have  you  tried,  day  by  day,  to  please 
God,  in  all  your  thoughts,  words  and  feelings? 
Have  you  not  studied  far  more  to  please  your 
earthly  friends  ?"  There  was  no  answer  but  tears. 
"  Well,  cousin,  you  have  made  your  friends  your 
God,  instead  of  Jehovah  !  It  was  so  once  with  me  ! 
The  human  affections  have  been  nurtured  to  a  sin- 
ful and  idolatrous  extent.  We  have  made  our  hap- 
piness consist  in  what,  therefore,  was  displeasing  to 
God.  We  have  pleased  ourselves,  instead  of  obey- 
ing him.  Is  not  this  enmity  ?  What  proof  of  en- 
mity can  be  greater  than  constant  disobedience, 
where -perfect  love  and  duty  are  required  ?" 

*'  But  why  don't  I  feel  conscious  of  enmity,  such 
as  t  feel  towards  men,  sometimes?  I  see,  it  must 
be  because  I  do  not  see  God;  he  is  far  oif,  and 


226  H  O  IM  E  . 

is  not  the  immediate  agent  in  my  hopes  or  disap- 
pointments.    Is  that  the  reason  ?" 

"  Partly.  But  have  you  not  been  really  insen- 
sible to  the  fact  that  you  were  living  in  such  sin- 
ful disobedience  ?  And  have  you,  kind  and  gentle 
as  you  are  to  all — have  you  really  disinterested 
love  for  one  human  being?  Are  you  willing  to 
make  sacrifices  to  benefit  a  stranger  who  does  not 
deserve  anything  but  censure  and  contempt? 
Your  look  of  surprise  at  the  question  answers  for 
you.  I  know  you  will  deny  yourself  for  us,  whom 
you  love.  But  Christ  died  for  his  enemies,  for 
those  who  deserved  no  pity,  no  mercy.  Is  not 
your  spirit  therefore  really  selfish  ?" 

"  My  heart  does  not  say  yes,  cousin,  though  I 
cannot  answer  you.  It  seems  to  rise  in  strong  op- 
position, I  feel,  I  confess,  now,  something  as 
mother  said  she  did,  when  your  letter  came." 

"That  only  proves  that  it  is  so,  njy  dear  cousin. 
Your  sinful  heart  does  not  love  to  come  to  the  light, 
because  it  is  sinful.  When  the  light  shines  on  the 
real  nature  of  your  affections,  the  enmity  begins  to 
come  into  distinct  consciousness.  But  let  us  pray 
together,  cousin.  It  is  time  to  retire,  and  you 
know  I  have  a  long  walk  through  the  woods." 
So  they  parted  for  some  months. 

She  wept  and  prayed,  and,  as  she  said,  tried  to 


227 


love  God.  But  only  became  more  deeply  sensible 
of  her  guilt,  and  full  of  unliappiness  on  account 
of  it. 

IV.  The  Mother. 

The  mother  did  not  love  the  gospel.  She  vi^as 
very  kind-hearted.  Agreeable  in  her  manners  and 
conversation,  she  had  deep-rooted  enmity  to  the 
gospel.  When  a  child  died,  who  gave  no  evidence 
of  a  renewed  heart,  she  was  asked  if  the  child — 
who  was  an  adult — became  a  Christian  before 
death  ?  The  answer  was,  *'  I  wish  not  to  enter  any 
heaven  where  my  child  is  not."  Maternal  love  was 
very  strong  ;  too  strong  for  a  sound  judgment,  even 
had  there  been  right  intellectual  views  of  the  truth. 
Her  love  was  warmly  returned  by  her  children. 
In  everything  that  respected  their  health,  comfort, 
manners,  education  and  social  feelings,  her  sound 
judgment  was  as  manifest  as  her  maternal  love. 
But  what  could  even  a  mother  teach,  without  the 
love  of  Christ  in  her  own  heart?  In  the  daugh- 
ter's heart,  the  strongest  influence  that  withheld 
her  from  Christ,  was  love  to  her  mother.  That 
mother  would  be  grieved  to  the  heart;  nay,  deep- 
ly offended  ;  perhaps  less  kind.  And  so  the  event 
proved.  But  the  daughter  had  a  thought  still  more 
bitter.     To  become  a  Christian  might  separate 


228  HOME. 

her  from  that  mother  forever.  She  could  not 
look  steadily  at  the  idea  that  the  mother,  so  loved, 
might  die  in  sin  and  perish. 

She  had  ahnost  wished  to  perish  with  her  moth- 
er! Experience  had  shown  her  the  error  of  our 
maternal  lesson.  The  daughter  could  not  believe 
in  the  natural  purity  of  her  own  heart.  She  felt 
that  sinful  affections  reigned  there. 

And,  truly,  what  more  striking  proof  of  the 
heart's  alienation  from  God,  is  there,  than  to  see 
thus,  the  best  and  purest  of  our  natural  affections 
becoming  the  means  of  hindering  the  salvation  of 
those  whom  we  best  love. 

The  mother  could  not  be  blind  to  the  change 
in  the  character  of  one  child  ;  but  because  another 
died  without  it,  she  jvould  not  believe  it  was 
necessary  to  fit  the  soul  for  heaven.  To  allow 
this,  was  to  admit  that  one  beloved,  idolized  child 
had  perished,  and  might  charge  the  loss  of  a  soul 
to  a  mother's  neglect.  For  the  mother,  while  she 
strove  to  make  her  children  amiable,  had  not  taught 
them  their  need  of  a  holy  heart,  or  of  faith  in  a 
crucified  Saviour  to  obtain  the  pardon  of  their  sins. 

One  child  cherished  the  mother's  hostility  to 
pure  religion  ;  the  other,  embraced  the  Saviour. 
The  last,  she  knew  was  safe;  her  heart  determin- 
ed to  believe  the  other  was  so.     The  truth  that 


HOME.  229 

saved  the  one,  condemned  the  other ;  therefore 
she  hated  it.  Perhaps  her  daughter,  if  not  with- 
drawn from  thatdestroying  circle  of  an  impenitent 
mother's  love,  would  have  wept  for  sin,  but  chosen 
to  perish  in  it.  Like  an  old  school-mate,  who  told 
me  once,  he  would  rather  go  to  hell  with  his  fa- 
ther, than  be  saved  without  him.  If  anything 
was  needed  to  show  that  the  merely  human  affec- 
tions do  not  constitute  piety,  such  examples  would 
be  enough.  The  mere  excess  of  right  emotions 
does  not  change  their  nature ;  nor  would  it  em- 
bitter the  heart  against  the  gospel. 

These  natural  affections  are  amiable  with  or  with- 
out religion.  When  purified  by  the  controlling 
power  of  holy  love,  they  become  far  more  winning 
than  they  were  before.  But  they  do  not  enter 
into  the  essence  of  holiness. 

There  was  a  mother,  once,  so  tried  as  never 
mother  was  before,  or  will  be  again.  The  holiest, 
wisest,  most  gifted,  most  affectionate  son  a  mother 
ever  loved,  hung  bleeding,  and  filled  with  the  an- 
guish of  the  cross,  before  her  eyes.  She  wept ;  but 
she  worshipped.  She  had  "  hid  in  her  heart"  the 
words  that  taught  the  meaning  of  his  sufferings. 
She  wept,  but  with  all  a  mother's  intense  love  in 
her  heart,  she  would  not  take  him  from  the  cross  ! 
He  was  a  world's  Redeemer.  Loving  him,  as  he 
20 


230  HOME. 

was  worthy  to  be  loved,  she  subdued  her  anguish, 
because  he" bade  her.  He  was  her  son,  no  more  ; 
but  he  was  her  Saviour.  They  do  not  seem  to 
have  met  after  the  resurrection.  So  should  a  mo- 
ther's love  ever  be  controlled  by  the  love  of  Christ ; 
by  the  higher  principles  of  duty  to  God  and  man. 
Then  ^  beauty  shines  forth  in  perfect  lustre. 

V.  The  Holy  Famihj. 

There  are  households  which  one  can  hardly  en- 
ter without  feeling  the  presence  of  God.  It  is  not 
so  much  on  account  of  what  is  said,  or  even  what 
is  done;  but  because  everything  is  habitually  said 
and  done  with  a  reference  to  the  will  of  God.  In 
one  such  family,  once  among  the  children  of  Home, 
but  now  residing  in  another  place,  every  person 
who  has  been  a  member  of  it  for  any  considerable 
period,  for  twenty  years  past,  has  become  a  child 
of  God ;  and  the  number  has  been  large. 

The  cousins  next  met  in  that  family  circle. 
She  had  been  invited  there,  to  pass  a  season,  not 
without  some  reference  to  her  spiritual  benefit. 
But  her  health  was  impaired  by  toil  and  study, 
and  the  labors  of  a  school.  The  seeds  of  con- 
sumption were  sown,  though  no  one  then  thought 
of  it. 

The  first  hour  was  spent  in  comparing  views 
of  what  was  passing  around  her. 


^  H  O  M  E  .  231 

"  Here  is  wealth,"  he  said,  "  riches  in  abun- 
dance, and  wealth  without  covetousness." 

"  Yes  ;  and  it  seems  to  be  used  as  if  it  all  be- 
longed, not  to  them,  but  to  God ;  and  as  if  all  they 
had  to  do  with  it  was  to  see  it  spent  to  please  him, 
and  benefit  their  fellow-men.  I  never  knew  any- 
thing like  it  before."  ^ 
"  Here  is  refinement,  too,  in  social  life." 
"  It  is  so ;  and  yet  there  is  something  more 
about  it  that  I  can  hardly  describe.  Every  one 
seems  to  be  so  gentle ;  yet  they  are  as  firm  as  a 
rock,  in  what  is  right.  Their  refinement  seems 
to  me  to  result  from  the  feelings  of  their  hearts  ; 
or,  I  should  say,  from  trying  to  imitate  Christ." 
**  They  are  certainly  very  amiable." 
"  Some  of  them,  they  tell  me,  cousin,  were  not 
so,  naturally.  And  there  is  J.,  as  amiable  a  per- 
son as  I  ever  saw ;  but  she  does  not  seem  to  be 
governed  by  the  same  feelings  as  the  rest.  Some- 
how, her  amiability  seems  to  be  of  a  lower  grade 
than  theirs.  It  has  no  principle  in  it.  Her  man- 
ners are  pleasing,  because  she  wishes  to  please. 
With  the  others,  it  is  because  they  seek  to  do  good, 
and  to  win  others  to  Christ.  Her  temper  was 
naturally  gentle  and  social ;  but  not  more  so  than 
P's.  Yet  he  seems  to  be  far  purer  in  heart.  He 
seems  to  have  God  always  before  hira." 


2^  HOME. ^ 

"  Is  he  always  serious  and  sedate  ?" 

*'  Oh  no  ;  sometimes  he  is  very  merry,  and  full 
of  wit  and  humor.  But  he  makes  it  his  rule  never 
to  allow  himself  to  get  into  a  state  of  mind  that 
unfits  him  for  prayer ;  that  is,  for  the  immediate 
presence  of  God." 

"  Is  t^ke  family  a  reading  and  intelligent  one?'* 

"  None  more  so.  Elegant  literature  is  not  for- 
gotten. Look  around  you,  at  those  piles  of  books, 
charts,  pictures,  music — they  all  love  music — you 
see  here  proofs  of  both  intelligence  and  social  en- 
joyment. 

"  Then,  too,  there  is  the  same  cheerfulness 
both  in  sickness  and  health ;  though  I  never  saw 
a  more  tenderly  attached  circle.  They  pray, 
when  others  would  weep.  That  seems  to  make 
them  happy  in  the  sorest  trial." 

"  Are  they  fond  of  society  ?" 

*'  Very.  Some  of  them  are  the  ornaments  of 
the  social  circle.  But  then  Christ  seems  never 
absent  from  their  minds.  It  is  not  because  they 
are  always  talking  of  religion.  Far  from  it.  But 
all  they  do  say  of  it  seems  to  flow  naturally/  out 
of  the  heart,  as  if  it  was  both  perfectly  familiar 
and  habitually  loved.  There  are  no  set  speeches 
about  it.  It  is  all  natural.  No  one  of  them  has 
ever  took  me  aside  to  talk,  in  form,  respecting  my 


H  O  M  E.  233 

soul.  Yet  they  all  seemed  to  know  just  what  I 
wanted,  and  when  I  needed  a  word  in  season. 
Oh,  'tis  such  a  heaven  to  live  in  such  a  family !" 

"  And  does  your  own  heart  fully  respond  to  the 
lessons  of  such  a  life?" 

*'  Yes,  my  Saviour  has  revealed  his  love  to  me ; 
and  1  trust  is  formed  in  me,  the  hope  of  glory.  If 
I  could  always  live,  it  seems  to  me  I  should  grow 
fast  in  knowledge  and  holiness.  But  I  must  re- 
turn home  the  next  month." 

The  holy  living  had  been  a  teacher  that  dis- 
persed all  the  clouds  of  sin  and  error. 

Here  was  a  piety  that  manifestly  was  something 
more  than  the  best  display  of  the  natural  sympa- 
thies of  the  human  heart.  These  were  seen — 
seen  exalted,  purified,  and  controlled  by  holy  love. 
It  was  the  aim  of  each  to  be  like  Christ.  That 
secured  excellence  in  everything.  All  knowledge, 
every  wish,  every  thought  was  controlled  with  ha- 
bitual reference  to  the  mind  of  Christ.  Trained 
awhile  in  such  a  school,  she  returned  again  to  the 
paternal  roof;  returned,  alas,  to  die. 

VI.  She  sleeps. 
Yet  two  years  passed   away,  before  the  Lord 
called  her.     Two  years  of  pain — of  constant  suf- 
fering.    Two  years  of  gentleness,  like  that  of  a 
20* 


234  HOME. 

dove;  of  meekness,  like  that  of  Moses;  of  pa- 
tience that  seemed  drawn  from  the  very  fountain 
of  divine  love.  There  was  no  eager  display  of 
zeal.  It  was  clothed  with  humility.  It  patiently 
waited  the  fit  occasion  to  warn  the  sinner.  But 
who,  of  all  that  knew  the  sweet  sufferer,  was  not 
faithfully  warned,  and  pointed  to  the  Lamb  of 
God  ?  There  were  bitter  foes  of  the  gospel  about 
her  ;  they  were  sometimes  unkind.  But,  like  her 
Lord,  she  opened  not  her  mouth  in  reproaches. 
Her  voice  was,  "  Father,  forgive  them  !"  If  there 
was  one  thought  of  pain,  as  to  her  future,  it  was, 
not  of  dying,  but  of  having  lived  uselessly.  Fear 
not,  blessed  saint !  There  is  not  one  of  all  that 
saw  thy  holy  dying,  but  feels  the  need  oVioly  liv" 
ing,  to  be  prepared  for  a  place  so  holy  as  that 
where  thou  now  dwellest ! 

Bed  of  death  ?  It  was  the  couch  of  state,  the 
scene  of  glorious  triumph.  It  was  only  one  of 
Heaven's  opened  doors,  to  let  in  a  spirit  already 
washed,  and  made  white  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb. 

Shall  we  weep,  because  the  beloved  companion 
from  infancy  was  glorified  with  the  glory  Christ 
had  prepared  for  her,  and  so  well  prepared  her  to 
receive  ? 

Awhile  she  seemed  to  sleep ;  her  eyelids  closed ; 
there  was  no  motion  :  but  now  and  then  a  smile 


HOME.  235 

of  nriore  than  earthly  beauty  passed  over  the  fea- 
tures as  she  left  this  sorrowing  world. 

We  cannot  always,  or  often,  form  any  correct 
judgment  of  the  character  by  the  scenes  of  the  sick 
bed,  or  the  death  struggle.  Medicine  often  gives 
a  quiet  that  is  mistaken  for  the  peace  of  God.  Of- 
tener  still  the  feebleness  of  disease  makes  the  mind 
calm,  because  it  is  not  capable  of  thought  or  emo- 
tion. And  this  is  called  resignation !  But  some- 
times heaven  is  so  clearly  opened  to  the  vision  of 
the  living,  that  it  brings  the  celestial  city  very 
near  indeed. 

I  care  little  howl  die,  if  I  may  have  the  love  of 
Christ  in  my  heart,  while  living  and  capable  of 
securing  him.  A  death  even  of  joy  is  no  proof  of 
the  salvation  of  the  soul,  on  which  we  can  rely, 
unless  the  holy  life  has  shown  the  dying  one's 
hopes  to  be  founded  on  the  Rock  of  Ages.  Nay, 
I  believe  God  so  orders  it,  in  his  Providence,  that 
most  of  those  who  perish,  shall  die  with  little  suf- 
fering. He  does  it  in  pity  to  the  survivors,  that 
the  anguish  of  their  spirits  may  not  be  too  great 
to  bear.  Who  could  endure,  every  time  a  sin- 
ner dies  in  his  sins,  to  see  hell  as  visibly  opened, 
as  heaven  sometimes  is  when  the  souls  of  God's 
holy  ones  are  called  to  his  presence  ?  To  hear 
the  first  wail  of  anguish,  as  we  hear  the  first  note 


236  HOME. 

of  the  songs  of  heaven  ?  So  we  are  bidden  to  "  live 
unto  the  Lord,"  and  then  we  know  we  shall  die 
unto  him,  and  be  glorified  together  with  him. 
But  if  we  live  unto  ourselves,  our  death  will  not 
open  heaven  to  us,  though  it  may  seem  to  be  peace- 
ful, or  even  joyful.  "  Be  not  deceived  !  God  is 
not  mocked.  What  a  man  soweth,  that  shall  he 
also  reap." 


237 


CHAPTER  XV. 

Diversities  of  character — Causes — Natural  gifts  differ — 
Feelings  vary — Education — Preaching — The  metaphy- 
sicians— Course  of 'Providence  ;  Pacts — Diversities  of 
belief  Illustrations — Sources  of  error — All  truths  sav- 
ing— "  The  same  Spirit" — Our  Home  above. 

Those  who  wish  to  excuse  their  own  departure 
from,  or  indifference  to  the  truths  of  the  gospel,  of- 
ten say :  ''  That  we  can  no  more  expect  men  to 
think  and  feel  alike,  than  we  can  expect  them  to 
look  alike."  There  is  both  truth  and  error  in  the 
remark ;  a  great  error,  and  a  most  important  truth. 

Except  in  a  few  cases  of  unnatural  deformity, 
the  essential  features  of  every  man  are  the  same. 
The  essential  elements  of  a  holy  character  must 
be  the  same,  in  all  who  have  holy  hearts.  The 
facts,  or  truths  respecting  God,  man,  redemption 
and  eternity,  cannot  possibly  vary  with  all  men's 
various  and  ever  changing  views  respecting  them. 

Still,  there  is  a  most  wonderful  diversity  of  cha- 
racter and  experience,  among  those  who  are  real 
Christians,  who  do  show  that  they  are  governed  by 
holy  love  to  God  and   man.      And  to  trace  the 


238  HOME. 

causes  and  results  of  this  diversity,  is  one  of  the 
most  important  and  useful  of  all  studies,  to  the 
practical  Christian.  It  requires  volumes,  instead  of 
a  chapter.  But  the  lessons  of  life  in  Home  would 
be  incomplete,  without  some  hints  on  the  subject. 
A  large  number  of  Christians  are  very  ill  quali- 
fied to  analyze,  or  describe  the  emotions  of  their 
own  hearts  at  the  time  of  their  conversion.  They 
are  too  excited,  too  confused.  There  is  a  rush  of 
new  and  strange  emotions,  no  one  of  which  is  dis- 
tinct enough  for  description.  They  are  not  used 
to  observing  such  things  in  themselves  or  others. 
And  very  few  men  can  easily  tell  even  what  they 
do  know,  with  entire  accuracy.  With  such  per- 
sons, everything  they  can  recall,  connected  in  any 
way  with  their  experience,  becomes  a  part  of  it. 
One  dream  is  given  by  the  Holy  Spirit ;  the  trance 
which  can  as  easily  be  produced  by  other  means, 
as  by  religious  influences,  becomes  an  opening  of 
heaven  to  their  view.  So  they  think ;  and  it  is 
in  vain  to  argue  them  out  of  it.  This  is  the 
source  of  many  an  error,  many  a  fond  delusion. 
Men  will  not  part  with  that  which  seems  to  be  so 
inwrought  into  their  experiences,  and  so  connect- 
ed with  their  hopes  of  heaven.  Hence  the  im- 
mense value  of  minute  statements  of  all  the  varied 
experiences  of  the  Christian,  evil  as  well  as  good. 
It  would  be  found  that  most  of  the  controversies 


HOME.  239 

amonor  true  Christians,  respecting  the  elements 
of  a  holy  life  and  character,  grow  out  of  this  vari- 
ety in  their  several  experiences. 

I  listened  once  to  a  very  minute  narrative  of 
the  conversion  of  more  than  one  hundred  educa- 
ted men,  given  in  successive  weeks,  for  the  very 
purpose  of  mutual  instruction.  The  variety  was 
wonderful.  There  were  only  six,  whose  experi- 
ence was  much  alike,  either  in  respect  to  the 
causes  or  the  details  of  the  change  God  had 
wrought  in  them.  Minute  acquaintance  with 
many  more  cases,  has  only  increased  my  know- 
ledge of  these  diversities. 

The  causes  of  them  were  many. 

(1)  Differences  of  intellectual  powers.  The 
reasoning  intellect,  delighting  to  trace  effects  to 
causes,  and  follow  the  cause  in  its  results,  gener- 
ally connected  its  experience  with  some  of  the 
higher  principles  of  the  divine  government.  It 
would  be  in  vain  to  reason  against  the  sovereign- 
ty of  God,  with  a  mind  of  this  class,  into  whose 
every  thought  and  feeling,  the  truths  designated 
by  that  term  had  become  incorporated,  not  only 
by  an  intellectual  perception  of  their  divine  har- 
mony, but  by  their  power  in  purifying  the  soul 
from  sin.  Equally  vain  the  efforts  to  make  such 
doctrines  valuable  to  minds  not  so  constituted 
will  generally  prove. 


240  HOME. 

The  class  of  minds  that  reasoned  most  from 
effects  to  causes,  habitually  traced  all  events  in 
life  and  nature,  to  God.  His  will,  his  hand,  was 
seen  in  everything,  good  and  evil,  and  devoutly 
recognized  with  an  humble,  submissive  spirit. 

Minds  that  commonly  reasoned  from  causes  to 
effects,  were  more  employed  in  tracing  the  harmo- 
ny of  the  principles  of  God's  government,  espe- 
cially if  their  powers  of  analysis  were  connected 
with  the  power  of  comparing  with  accuracy,  the 
results  of  their  researches.  With  them,  the  re- 
ception of  the  truth  did  not  result  from  submis- 
sion to  divine  teaching,  so  much  as  from  a  per- 
ception that  that  teaching  was  reasonable,  and  in 
keeping  with  all  known  truths. 

The  poetic  mind  almost  always  was  most  im- 
pressed with  the  atonement ;  the  glory  of  the  re- 
vealed Godhead;  with  the  majesty  of  the  cross; 
the  resurrection  and  mediation  and  reign  of  the 
Redeemer  glorified ;  and  with  other  themes  that 
appealed  to  the  mind's  perception  of  sublimity, 
beauty  and  perfection. 

(2)  There  were  still  more  diversities  from 
natural  feelings  and  sentiments. 

A  naturally  conscientious  mind  was  impressed 
with  the  obligations  of  the  Law  of  God.  Justice, 
right  and  duty,  as  violated  by  a  life  of  disobe- 
dience, humbled  the  soul. 


HOME.  241 

A  proud  mind,  or  one,  more  correctly  speak- 
ing, naturally  respecting  itself  highly,  was  most 
impressed  with  the  meanness,  and  loathsome  tur- 
pitude of  sin. 

One  in  whom  the  love  of  the  favor  of  others 
was  the  ruling  element,  was  most  solicitous  to 
'please  God,  and  to  be  the  object  of  his  smile  of 
favor.  That  feeling  drew  him  from  the  paths  of 
sin. 

The  naturally  generous  and  self-sacrificing  were 
won  sometimes  by  the  benevolence  of  the  gospel. 
It  was  so  noble  to  give  up  all  for  Christ,  that  they 
could  not  refrain  from  doing  it.  The  naturally 
timid,  shrinking  from  pain  and  suffering,  were 
often  awakened  by  simple  fear  of  divine  wrath 
against  sin.  The  judgments  of  God  led  them  to 
learn  righteousness. 

A  mind  to  which  mathematics  seemed  to  be 
the  very  aliment  of  life,  was  awakened  by  the  ef- 
fects of  the  investigations  of  La  Place  on  his  mind, 
in  demonstrating  the  wisdom  of  God,  and  his 
universal  agency. 

Others,  whose  affections  were  very  strong,  were 
awakened  by  the  influence  of  love  for  a  mother, 
wife,  or  other  beloved  friends.  To  please  them, 
they  first  sought  to  please  God,  by  doing  his  will. 
In  short,  there  was  hardly  any  one  power  of  the 
21 


242  HOME. 

mental,  social  and  moral  constitution  of  man,  that 
did  not  become  the  agent  in  the  conversion  of  the 
soul  to  God  ;  and  so  distinctly,  that  the  convert 
could  not  relate  his  history,  without  showing  it  to 
all. 

(3)  The  various  education  persons  receive,  gives 
still  other  varieties.  This,  however,  tends  greatly 
to  make  the  diversities  that  result  from  natural 
character  less  striking,  though  not  always.  Some- 
times the  bent  of  the  mind  in  one  direction  is  so 
strong,  that  it  has  the  powder  of  assimilation ;  it 
converts  to  its  own  uses  all  the  efforts  made  to 
impart  knowledge,  or  to  elicit  other  mental  pow- 
ers and  resources.  It  was  seen,  however,  that 
the  well  educated  mind,  generally,  had  a  higher 
regard  for  the  truths  of  religion  ;  the  uneducated, 
for  the  feelings  it  inspires.  With  the  first,  to  be 
right  was  the  prime  object;  with  the  last,  it  was 
to  feel  deeply  whatever  was  believed, 

(4)  The  character  of  the  preaching  to  which  they 
had  been  accustomed,  had  a  marked  effect.  If  it 
was  didactic  reasoning,  their  minds  had  the  same 
tendency.  If  it  was  poetic,  the  beauty  of  religion 
inflamed  them.  If  it  dealt  more  with  the  various 
emotions  of  the  sinful  or  holy  heart,  so  their  re- 
ligion became  more  decidedly  that  of  experience, 
rather  than  thought  or  action.  When  the  char- 
acter of  the  preaching  corresponded  with  the  natu- 


H  o  M  s .  243 

ral  tendencies  of  the  individual  mind,  the  result 
was  very  marked  and  beneficial — though  not  al- 
ways. One  very  acute  metaphysical  mind,  train- 
ed by  a  pastor  of  the  same  mental  character,  had 
become  a  sort  of  metaphysical  monomaniac!  It 
analyzed  its  emotions  and  principles,  till  they  lost 
half  their  legitimate  power  over  the  soul.  I  be- 
lieve the  lessons  of  affliction  have  since  corrected 
that  tendency  ;  for  he  is  now  a  very  practical  man. 
In  another  instance,  the  same  cause,  acting  on  a 
mind  so  constituted,  appears  to  have  kept  the  sin- 
ner from  God.  His  whole  mental  energy  was 
absorbed  in  the  philosophy  of  truth,  till  it  lost  all 
power  to  subdue  the  heart !  I  never  knew  so  ac- 
curate a  judge  of  what  was  exactly  true,  as  that 
sinner  !  But  a  long  life  of  sin,  under  the  constant, 
nay,  eager  attendance  on  all  the  means  of  grace, 
proved  that  the  truth  failed  to  reach  his  heart. 

(5)  The  course  of  Providence  with  individuals, 
was  equally  marked  in  their  conversion. 

Gratitude  for  prosperity  subdued  one.  The  loss 
of  a  tenderly  loved  relative  broke  the  heart  of  an- 
other, and  he  sought  consolation  in  Christ.  Yet 
the  conversions  that  resulted  from  sanctified  afflic- 
tion, or  fear,  were  very  few. 

There  were  striking  instances  of  this.  One,  on 
a  bed  of  sickness,  when  friends  and  physicians  had 


244  HOME. 

bid  him  prepare  for  a  speedy  exchange  of  worlds, 
vowed  to  God  that  he  would  serve  him,  if  life 
should  be  spared.  Life  was  granted;  and  for  a 
brief  space  the  vow  was  redeemed,  in  form ;  while 
the  impulse  of  gratitude  lasted.  But  the  heart 
was  not  subdued  ;  and  long  years  of  folly  and  sin 
were  passed  before  some  other  influence  brought 
the  sinner  to  the  cross. 

Another,  when  the  cholera  raged  around,  was 
filled  with  fears  of  death.  For  a  year  or  two, 
there  was  prayer,  devotion,  and  all  the  outward 
marks  of  a  religious  life.  But  years  of  worldly 
and  selfish  living  followed,  when  the  pestilence 
ceased  to  walk  in  darkness,  or  waste  the  powers 
of  life  at  noon-day. 

A  son,  carefully  trained  to  believe  and  reverence 
the  truths  and  precepts  of  the  Bible,  came  to  me 
once  to  ask  guidance  to  the  cross.  Thrown  into 
the  whirl  of  the  city,  surrounded  by  those  who 
neither  loved  nor  respected  the  truth,  the  effects 
of  their  mockeries  on  his  own  mind,  in  lessening 
his  own  reverence  for  sacred  things,  alarmed  him. 
He  said  he  felt  he  must  become  a  child  of  God, 
or  he  should  lose  all  respect  for  what  his  educa- 
tion and  his  judgment  both  led  him  to  regard  as 
the  truth  of  God.  So  he  wisely  decided  to  make 
Christ  his  friend. 


HOME.  245 

Another  had  long  been  engaged  in  the  rum  traf- 
fic. His  shop  had  been  a  perfect  curse  to  a  whole 
neighborhood  of  Home.  Sickness  came;  and 
while  on  his  bed  some  facts  occurred  that  illustrated 
the  horrible  results  of  his  own  business  in  such  a 
way  that  he  could  not  close  his  eyes  to  it.  Remorse 
seized  upon  him  ;  and  a  desire  to  repair  the  evils 
he  had  done  in  his  selfish  pursuit  of  gain,  led  him 
to  consecrate  himself  and  all  his  to  the  Lord. 

(6)  Diversities  of  religious  belief  had  the  same 
marked  effect.  There  seemed  to  be  no  one  idea 
of  the  whole  circle  of  truth  which  was  not  em- 
ployed to  convert  the  soul ;  no  idea,  the  intellec- 
tual rejection  of  which  prevented  the  agency  of 
the  Holy  Spirit  in  using  what  truth  was  embrac- 
ed, for  the  salvation  of  the  soul.  A  Deist,  who 
utterly  rejected  Divine  revelation,  was  awakened 
by  reflections  on  the  goodness  of  God.  He  often 
meditated  on  the  subject,  and  supposed  he  loved 
the  God  of  nature.  One  day  the  contrast  between 
the  Divine  benevolence,  as  shown  in  hundreds  of 
instances,  where  the  mere  wish  to  confer  happi- 
ness must  have  been  the  sole  motive  for  providing 
for  it,  and  his  own  selfish  character,  struck  him 
with  such  power,  that  he  fell  on  his  knees  and 
cried  aloud  for  mercy.  Trained  up  to  despise  a 
Bible  he  had  never  cared  to  examine,  it  was  only 
21* 


246  HOME. 

when  many  struggles  with  his  sinful  heart  taught 
him  the  need  of  a  guide,  that  he  sought  for  a 
Testament,  and  for  the  first  time,  learned  more 
of  the  character  and  mission  of  Christ,  than  could 
be  learned  from  profane  curses. 

In  another,  clear  views  of  the  Divine  Govern- 
ment, led  to  cordial,  joyful  submission  and  hum- 
ble obedience,  without  the  least  mental  reference 
to  a  Saviour,  or  even  much  thought  whether  par- 
don was  received  or  needed  at  all.  The  sense  of 
guilt  had  been  very  acute  ;  the  submission  to  jus- 
tice was  cordial ;  and  the  spirit  of  filial  love  and 
obedience  filled  the  heart,  for  weeks  before  the 
Saviour  was  revealed  in  his  glory.  These  cases 
settled  in  my  mind  the  practicability  of  a  heathen's 
conversion,  by  the  principles  of  natural  religion, 
without  the  gospel,  *'  so  that  they  are  without  ex- 
cuse." In  all  the  after  life  of  this  able  man,  in 
his  preaching  he  perpetually  enforced  submission 
as  the  first  duty,  and  as  the  mode  of  entering  on 
the  life  of  faith.  It  was  a  serious  hindrance  to 
the  usefulness  of  one  of  the  best  men  I  ever  knew. 
For  twenty  years  he  had  preached  with  great 
ability,  and  lived  a  life  of  prayer.  At  the  end  of 
that  time,  he  told  me,  that  while  his  preaching 
had  comforted  and  edified  many  in  the  church  ot 
God,  he  knew  not  that  he  had  ever  directly  won 


HOME,  247 

one  soul  to  Christ !  His  attention  was  pointed 
to  this  leading  practical  error  in  his  preaching, 
and  to  the  vast  diversities  in  the  mode  of  com- 
mencing a  religious  life.  His  methods  of  instruc- 
tion were  varied,  while  the  same  clearness  in  en- 
forcing the  truths  of  the  gospel  remained.  His 
harvests  of  souls  have  since  that  time  been  con- 
stant and  great. 

One  who  intellectually  rejected  the  Deity  and 
atonement  of  Christ,  was  led  by  the  Spirit  to  see 
her  sins,  and  her  need  of  mercy.  Is  was  only  in 
the  progress  of  holy  affections  that  Christ  became 
her  "  Lord  and  her  God." 

He  who  had  been  trained  to  view  the  doctrine 
of  election — an  election  not  based  on  the  foreseen 
conversion  of  the  man — as  abhorrent  to  every 
principle  of  equity,  was  won  to  Christ,  by  the 
perception  of  the  grace  that  sought  him,  and 
brought  him  to  Christ,  while  he  had  chosen 
the  path  of  death.  He  wondered  why  he  was 
taken,  and  not  another !  So  the  very  principle 
he  rejected,  brought  forth  its  appropriate  fruits  of 
humility  and  gratitude  in  his  heart,  through  the 
grace  of  the  Spirit.  So  with  all  truths.  Each 
has  sanctifying  power ;  and  is  a  sword  of  the 
Spirit  to  slay  those  forms  of  sin  that  rule  the  heart. 
So  that  the  little  child  whose  tender  mind  can 


248  HOME. 

grasp  but  one  truth,  in  its  simplest  form,  may  be 
saved  by  it.  The  feeble  minded  who  lack  the 
capacity  to  discern  many  truths,  may  be  purified 
by  what  their  vision  sees.  The  worldly  lover  of 
gold,  who  made  it  his  god,  dreamed  that  he  was 
staggering  along,  almost  crushed  by  the  weight 
of  his  heaped  coffers.  The  Saviour — ^just  as  his 
mind,  ruled  by  the  outward  senses,  had  seen  him 
painted  in  the  Cathedral  of  Baltimore — seemed  to 
pass  by,  and  in  pity  relieve  him  of  the  burden 
that  was  crushing  out  his  life  ;  and  he  woke  to 
give  his  gold,  himself  and  his  all  to  that  Saviour. 
Baptized  with  his  Spirit,  his  gold  is  no  longer  a 
curse,  but  the  means  of  a  blessing  to  many.  It 
was  the  idea  of  the  vanity  of  worldly  treasures  to 
confer  happiness,  that  broke  up  the  selfish  slum- 
bers of  his  frozen  heart.  It  is  in  vain  to  say  that 
no  one  can  become  a  Christian  who  has  been  ed- 
ucated, or  otherwise  led,  intellectually  to  reject 
any  particular  truth,  however  important  that  may 
be.  It  is  not  so.  If  that  rejection  be  ioilful, 
after  the  mind  clearly  sees  that  the  doctrine  is 
true,  the  rejection  of  it  will,  no  doubt,  destroy  the 
soul.  So  it  would  if  the  doctrine  or  precept  were, 
relatively,  of  less  importance.  The  deliberate 
rejection  of  any  truth  or  duty,  is  a  rejection  of  the 
rightful  authority  of  the  Divine  teacher  and  Law- 


HOME.  249 

giver.  But  such  wilful  sin  is  probably  not  very 
common.  It  is  most  frequently  committed,  not 
where  errors  in  doctrine  are  taught,  but  where 
men  enjoy  the  clear  light  of  the  gospel.  Then  we 
often  see  a  hitter  rejection  of  some  single  truth  or 
duty,  followed  by  blindness  of  mind,  hardness  of 
heart,  and  a  death  of  shame. 

The  source  of  error,  and  of  much  inefficient 
preaching  may  be  seen  by  an  anecdote.  A  young 
man,  just  from  a  Seminary,  wrote  out,  in  a  little 
different  form,  all  the  lectures  of  his  theological 
instructors,  and  preached  them  to  his  people,  in 
the  first  years  of  his  ministry.  It  is  hardly  neces- 
sary to  say,  not  a  soul  was  converted.  Did  he 
not  preach  the  truth  ?  Yes.  The  whole  truth  ? 
Almost !  Was  it  not  philosophically  arranged,  so 
that  the  harmony  of  every  part  of  the  system 
could  be  seen?  No  doubt.  Even  the  "  order  of 
nature  in  the  affections  of  the  heart"  was  demon- 
strated with  admirable  logic  and  precision.  But 
the  mode  of  instruction  in  which  the  great  intel- 
lect taught  him  the  harmony  and  theory  of  truth, 
was  not  that  which  fitted  it  to  reach  the  con- 
sciences, wants,  feelings  and  sympathies  of  men. 
People  said  he  was  a  '  great  preacher,'  but  many 
of  his  most  important  doctrines  were  rejected,  in 
spite  of  the  irrefutable  logic  that  sustained  them. 


250  HOME. 

Probably,  a  few  minds,  in  some  churches,  might 
have  been  savingly  benefited  by  just  such  preach- 
ing. But,  as  a  Christian,  the  preacher  did  not 
believe  his  own  doctrines,  in  the  forms  in  which 
he  had  been  preaching  them.  Those  forms  had 
relation  to  the  logical  intellect ;  none  to  the  emo- 
tions of  the  heart.  When  he  philosophized,  cor- 
rectly enough,  on  the  fact  that  love  was  the  ele- 
ment of  all  right  affections,  and  therefore,  in  the 
order  of  nature  the  first  holy  emotion  produced 
by  the  Spirit,  he  could  not  help  remembering  that 
he  had  been  first  conscious  of  penitence  for  sin,  of 
submission,  of  hopes  of  mercy.  When  he  told 
the  fact  that  no  man  could  be  justified,  or  forgiven, 
without  an  atonement,  and  that  pardon  was  grant- 
ed to  believers  alone,  he  forgot  that  he  had  found 
peace  and  joy  in  God,  while,  intellectually,  he 
had  rejected  the  idea  of  an  atoning  Saviour.  So, 
led  by  chances,  beyond  his  control,  he  began  to 
preach  the  same  truths,  as  they  lay  in  his  own 
heart,  connected  with  his  and  other  men's  expe- 
rience as  saints  and  sinners.  Now  the  power  of 
the  Spirit  was  revealed,  and  the  truth  made  many 
wise  unto  salvation. 

What  is  the  error  ?  It  is  this.  Men  mistake 
a  logical  necessity  for  an  actual  need.  In  logic, 
every  truth  is  harmonized  with,  and  flows  certain- 


HOME.  251 

ly  from  every  other  truth.  All  reasonings  of  truth 
are  reasonings  in  a  circle.  For  every  truth  may  be 
assumed,  in  turn,  as  a  postulate,  and  every  other 
drawn  from  it  by  a  logic  nothing  can  shake.  But 
few  men  are  logicians !  You  logically  infer  that 
a  man  cannot  reject  one  truth  of  the  circle,  with- 
out rejecting  other,  and  essential  ideas,  with 
which,  in  express  terms,  the  Bible  connects  salva- 
tion from  sin  and  woe.  But  many  a  man  is  con- 
scious of  holy  affections,  who  does  not  believe 
isome  portions  of  this  great  circle  of  truth.  His 
heart  is  pained.  He  deems  you  a  bigot.  Broth- 
erly love  ceases.  Sects  are  formed,  among  those 
who  really  love  the  same  holiness.  Worse  still. 
The  true  disciple  becomes  embittered  against 
some  valuable  truths  in  the  divine  circle  of  light, 
and  he  loses  its  sanctifying  power,  which  was  in- 
tended to  complete  the  harmony  of  his  own  Chris- 
tian character.  Besides;  a  large  class  of  divine 
truths  seldom  have  any  direct  relation  to  the  first 
experience  of  the  awakened  sinner,  and  the  con- 
vert. They,  too,  by  such  preaching,  become  hos- 
tile to  truths  needful  to  them  in  some  other  stage 
of  their  progress. 

It  makes  no  great  difference  what  particular 
truth  is  first  impressed  on  a  sinner's  mind.  If  his 
carnal  heart  is  roused,  he  will  quarrel  with  one 


252  HOME. 

as  readily  as  with  another.  The  doctrine  he 
quarrels  with  must  be  pressed  upon  his  heart  till 
he  feels  its  subduing  power.  Some  think  that 
this  or  that  doctrine  is  peculiarly  offensive  to  the 
corrupt  heart.  Not  so  !  The  doctrine  that  hap- 
pens to  disturb  a  man  in  his  sins,  or  that,  which 
by  the  habits  of  his  mind  or  education,  is  best  fit- 
ted to  teach  him  the  real  nature  of  his  sinful  af- 
fections, that  becomes  the  cross  to  him.  To  re- 
ceive that,  be  it  what  it  may,  involves  a  heart  of 
submission  to  the  divine  authority.  If  the  Spirit 
of  holy  love  once  enters  the  heart,  its  reign,  if  not 
prevented,  will  in  time  control  the  whole  intellect, 
as  well  as  every  feeling,  "  There  are  diversities 
of  operations,  but  the  same  Spirit.^' 

The  diversities  of  religious  character  formed 
are  as  great  as  the  causes  that  enter  into  their  for- 
mation are  numerous. 

One  knows  more  truth  than  another.  His  holy 
character  is  more  matured.  The  mental  peculi- 
arities of  another  are  seen  in  the  fullest  develop- 
ment of  some  graces  of  the  Spirit,  while  others, 
though  not  wholly  wanting,  are  seldom  seen.  One 
is  more  humble  and  submissive ;  another  more 
zealous  and  joyous  in  hope.  Meekness  shines  in 
one,  holy  boldness  in  his  brother.  The  reception 
of  some  truths  gives  greater  stability  of  character 


HOME.  253 

than  most  who  reject  them  possess.  In  one,  deep 
and  joyous  emotions  are  deemed  the  evidences  of 
sanctification.  In  another,  the  habitual  conform- 
ity of  the  thoughts  and  wishes  to  the  command- 
ments of  God  is  deemed  the  sure  proof  of  holiness. 
Both  are  so,  sometimes.  Some  characters  unite 
both  ;  more  separate  them  or  give  to  one  more 
preeminence,  than  is  given  to  it  by  others  equally 
the  followers  of  God  as  dear  children. 

Thus,  the  causes  that  diversify  the  religious 
character  at  its  commencecnent,  continue  to  act 
throughout  the  entire  life  of  the  Christian.  The 
love  of  God  is  in  his  heart.  He  will  be  saved.  If 
his  mind  was  equally  fitted  to  be  benefited  by  eve- 
ry revealed  truth,  he  would  be  a  more  perfect 
man,  a  more  perfect  Christian.  If  he  believed 
and  loved  the  entire  circle  of  divine  truths,  it 
would  make  his  character  complete,  perfect.  And, 
with  all  the  hindrances  he  finds  within  and  with- 
out, if  he  is  truly  taught  of  God,  he  will,  in  the 
end,  reach  such  perfection.  Where  there  is  filial 
love  in  the  heart ;  a  sense  of  guilt,  and  of  the  need 
of  free  grace  ;  and  a  teachable  temper,  let  us  nev- 
er despair'  of  seeing  the  child  become  a  man. 
The  Spirit  is  his  teacher.  "  He  giveth  to  every 
nian,  severally/ as  He  will,"  just  as  may  be  need- 
«      ed,  by  the  nature  of  the  individual  man,  to  fit  him 

\  :  ,  99 


254  HOME. 

for  life  here,  and  a  more  glorious  life  when  we 
put  on  the  immortal  body. 

How  careful  should  we  be  not  to  cause  one  of 
the  "little  ones  that  believe  in  Christ  to  offend  ! 
With  what  tenderness  should  we  watch  the  fee- 
blest manifestations  of  real  holiness !  If  the  flax 
smoke  ever  so  little,  there  is  fire  enough  to  kindle 
it.  And  if  we  reason  with  the  heart,  aiding  the 
'  experience  of  the  weak  or  ignorant  with  the  truths 
best  adapted  to  their  wants,  they  will  grow  in 
grace  rapidly.  Every  truth  of  the  gospel  is  truth ; 
important  truth ;  invaluable  in  its  place,  and  fit- 
ting time.  But  all  truths  are  not  alike  impor- 
tant at  all  times,  or  for  all  men.  The  wise  master 
builder  does  not  use  a  shingle  where  a  beam  is 
needed,  or  hold  up  a  rafter  with  'a  board  nail. 
The  storm  that  invigorates  the  oak  will  destroy 
the  tender  wheat.  "  There  are  diversities  of  gifts, 
by  the  same  Spirit." 

Use  logic  with  the  reasoner  ;  the  '*  deep  things 
of  God"  with  those  who  have  strength  to  receive 
them ;  milk  for  babes.  But  with  all,  preach  and 
teach  from  the  experience  of  the  heart,  to  the 
hearts  of  others.  The  man  who  tells  me  how  he 
proves  a  doctrine  to  be  true,  does  me  little  good. 
But  he  who  tells  me  the  relation  of  that  doctrine 
or  idea  to  the  corresponding  affections  of  the  soul, 


HOME.  255 

enables  me  to  feed  upon  it,  to  grow  in  holiness,  to 
obtain  new  peace  and  joy,  and  so,  the  better  to 
glorify  our  Father  who  is  in  heaven. 

Thus,  in  the  progress  of  the  individual  mind 
we  see  the  same  variety  of  causes  and  results  that 
we  notice  in  the  revival  of  pure  religion  in  a  whole 
town.  In  all,  God,  our  father's  God,  is  at  work  by 
his  Spirit  to  bring  many  sons  and  daughters  to 
glory.  Pray,  Christian,  pray  on,  pray  ever  !  Pray  , 
for  the  fulfilment  of  the  promise,  "  they  shall  all 
be  taught  of  God."  Pray  that  the  Holy  Spirit  may 
constantly  dwell  in  every  mind,  imparting  his  va- 
rious gifts  of  grace,  knowledge  and  love,  to  each 
one,  according  to  his  will,  and  their  needs.  Pray 
that  you  in  no  hour  of  your  life,  may  be  without 
the  presence  of  that  Spirit,  till  Christ  be  perfectly 
formed  in  you  the  hope  of  glory.  Pray  that  He 
may  so  dwell  in  "your  children,  in  remembrance 
of  His  covenant,  to  the  end  of  time. 

A  parting  word.  Reader,  Is  this  world  your 
Home?  Our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  will  one  day 
come  with  ten  thousand  of  his  saints ;  are  you  so 
forming  a  character  like  His,  that  he  "  will  be  ad- 
mired in  you"^  in  that  day? 

I  love  to  think  of  a  beautiful  comparison  of  Stil- 
lingfleet,  in  the  opening  of  his  Origincs  Sacrae. 
In  the  ancient  houses  the  offices  for  daily   and 


256  HOME. 

servile  toil  occupied  the  first  floor.  The  rooms 
for  family  use,  to  live  in,  were  above.  Heaven, 
he  says,  is  owXyiheupper  room,  the  upper  room  of 
our  dwelling-place,  where  our  life  is  to  be  passed. 
Here,  we  have  servile  toil,  the  drudgery  of  toil. 
It  is  only  the  preparation  for  our  real  life.  It  is 
no  Home  till  we  enter  the  permanent  dwelling- 
place.  When  every  power  of  the  individual  mind 
is  fully  developed,  and  every  power,  every  feeling, 
every  thought  entirely  governed  by  holy  love  to 
God  and  our  fellows,  then  we  are  fitted  for  our 
permanent  Home.  There  will  be  diversities  of 
gifts,  there.  One  will  excel  in  strength,  another 
in  wisdom.  One  will  harp  with  the  harpers,  an- 
other will  sing  the  new  song.  One  will  ever  de- 
voutly worship,  another  will  teach  the  mystery  of 
God  to  those  who  need  a  guide.  But  all  shall 
serve  him,  with  perfect  hearts.  That  makes 
heaven  the  Home  of  the  soul.  Are  you  reader, 
fitted  to  enter  our  Home  ? 


END. 


Princeton  Theological  Semmary-Speer  Lit 


:i^ 


^.  ■. ... 


!;ji!i!T„„, .,„ 

■'')':!Mi|!|!!i 


